Public-Private Virtual-School Partnerships and Federal Flexibility for Schools during COVID-19

5 Pages Posted: 31 Mar 2020

Date Written: March 25, 2020

Abstract

The coronavirus has altered the daily lives of families around the world. In the United States, one of the most significant changes for millions of families is that most K–12 pupils have become home school or virtual-school students for the foreseeable future.

Making effective partnerships with existing online schools and virtual content providers will be critical for students in the coming weeks. Furthermore, policymakers should afford district and charter schools more flexibility with existing resources so that schools can direct taxpayer spending to areas of need. Finally, the US Department of Education has issued guidance that removes regulatory barriers to schools attempting to provide online course material. Schools and districts should not be allowed to cite rules and point to obstacles that prevent any attempts at offering virtual instruction. The pandemic offers an opportunity to see just how quickly, and how extensively, public and private educators can expand virtual instruction—which may change the way society considers all of education in the future.

Keywords: education, remote learning, virtual classroom, distance learning, online instruction, coronavirus, pandemic, economic crisis, health crisis, US Department of Education

JEL Classification: I00, H75, I28

Suggested Citation

Butcher, Jonathan, Public-Private Virtual-School Partnerships and Federal Flexibility for Schools during COVID-19 (March 25, 2020). Special Edition Policy Brief, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3564504 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3564504

Jonathan Butcher (Contact Author)

Goldwater Institute ( email )

500 E. Coronado Rd.
Phoenix, AZ 85004
United States

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