Idaho Home Learning Academy tells Senate committee it serves ~8,000 students, explains funding and accountability

Summary

Terry Sorensen, executive director of Idaho Home Learning Academy, told the Senate Education Committee that IHLA serves roughly 7,925 students statewide as a public virtual charter and uses contracted educational-service providers to operate an ESA-style model that gives parents $1,800 per student for approved learning resources.

Terry Sorensen, executive director of the Idaho Home Learning Academy (IHLA), told the Senate Education Committee that IHLA is a statewide public virtual school authorized under Oneida School District that serves students in grades K–12 and provides parents with an education savings account (ESA) mechanism worth $1,800 per student per year.

Sorensen said IHLA is operated within a “triangle” in which Oneida School District supplies administrators and certified teachers, IHLA contracts with three educational service providers (Harmony Education, Braintree Educational Services and HomeEd360) that deliver curricular programs and administrative functions, and parents use an ESA account for approved purchases via direct-buy or reimbursement. She said the ESA funds are not handed directly to parents as cash; instead, providers account for purchases and reimbursements tied to student course registrations.

Scope and scale: Sorensen told senators IHLA has approximately 7,925 students and said the program has converted to charter status after previously operating inside Oneida School District. She said IHLA does not currently receive the…

Idaho Home Learning Academy tells Senate committee it serves ~8,000 students, explains funding and accountability

Summary

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