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Online‑school representative urges funding review as committee considers virtual education study
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Summary
A K12 Stride representative and lawmakers urged the committee to study how Wyoming funds virtual education under the block grant, whether remote students should be funded like brick‑and‑mortar pupils, and how other states handle these models.
Abby Ellis, who represents K12 Stride — an online curriculum provider used by the Wyoming Virtual Academy — asked the Joint & Standing education committee to examine the state’s approach to funding virtual education.
Ellis said Wyoming’s virtual program is housed in the Niobrara School District, where students are treated “as though they’re a brick‑and‑mortar student,” and urged the committee to study funding models in other states to determine whether Wyoming’s current approach is equitable and sustainable. “It varies between 700‑900 students,” she said of Niobrara’s online enrollment, and recommended a short review of out‑of‑state funding structures and whether alternative approaches might better serve families and districts.
Representative Williams and Chair Schueller supported a proactive study of virtual education’s relationship to the block grant and ADM funding and asked staff to include virtual funding on the committee’s interim topics list.
Nut Graf: Industry testimony and committee remarks signaled interest in a staff‑led comparison of state funding models and potential recommendations for how Wyoming accounts for virtual students in block grant and ADM calculations.
No formal action was taken at the hearing; committee staff were asked to collect comparative models and data for future discussion.
