Virtual school seeks Iowa funding

William Bennett’s for-profit company, which offers virtual schooling, plans to tap Iowa’s public education money to provide materials and Internet access to families teaching their children at home.

K12 Inc., led by Bennett, the former U.S. secretary of education known for preaching virtues, is partnering with the Pocahontas Area school district to provide a cyber school this fall to Iowa youngsters entering kindergarten. Supporters of the Iowa Virtual School Program, who are using the state’s open-enrollment law to attract students, plan to add first through seventh grades in 2004.

The program’s tactics have raised concerns on several fronts, in Iowa and nationally. Read more…