According to education analysts, the number of students attending school in a completely online environment has grown exponentially in the past few years. Despite a growing acceptance of virtual education as a viable means of schooling, however, many states are still struggling with questions such as how much to fund these projects, who should provide the instruction--and who should foot the bill.

In just the past few weeks, for example, teachers unions in Minnesota and Wisconsin have sued to block online charter schools from operating in those states; operators of an online school in Idaho have petitioned the state for more funding, saying the per-pupil expenditure that Idaho allows for virtual schooling is inadequate; and Florida's top financial officer is examining the state's contract with two companies running virtual schools in the Sunshine State for possible violations of state law.

In all of these cases, the schools in question are partnerships between public K-12 school systems and private, for-profit virtual schooling companies. Education observers say it's the idea these companies are profiting from public tax dollars--and siphoning them from brick-and-mortar schools in the process--that is the real issue.

Competition for funds

In Minnesota, the state's teachers union filed a lawsuit Oct. 9 to shut down the Minnesota Virtual Academy, an online charter school operated by the Houston, Minn., school district. The lawsuit contends that the school violates state law because it relies on parents instead of teachers to deliver day-to-day instruction. But observers say the underlying reason for the lawsuit is the belief by the school's critics that it amounts to a public subsidy for home schooling.

The academy has attracted such strong interest, largely from home schoolers, that it has had to turn away hundreds of students for lack of funds. It offers a curriculum directed by K12 Inc., a Virginia-based company founded by former U.S. Education Secretary William Bennett, author of the "Book of Virtues."

Coursework is directed by mail or online, and the academy's web site notes that "responsible adults (usually parents) guide students through their daily coursework using the K12 curriculum."

The lawsuit argues that this arrangement violates the state's online school law, which requires that licensed teachers "must assemble and deliver instruction" to students. But Houston Superintendent Kim Ross said 10 academy teachers are available to help guide instruction and respond to parent inquiries.

The lawsuit "is diminishing the work of teachers who are employed by Minnesota Virtual Academy," she told the St. Paul Pioneer Press for an Oct. 10 story. "It fails to recognize our licensed teachers and the quality of service they provide."

Skeptics say the lawsuit has more to do with competition for funding than it does with the quality of instruction.