Topeka Unified School District 501 superintendent Julie Ford stands by entrepreneurship classes offered at Topeka high schools and linked to a Koch Foundation-funded organization.

The classes came under fire Wednesday in a Huffington Post article that traces the origin of the nonprofit Youth Entrepreneurs and says the group’s underlying mission is to "impart Koch’s radical free-market ideology to teenagers."

Youth Entrepreneurs provides training and resources to schools to establish classes on small business. USD 501 offers the classes for sophomores, juniors and seniors at Highland Park High, Topeka High, Topeka West and, starting this year, Hope Street Academy.

Ford said she has had many opportunities to observe the program first-hand, including serving as a judge to scrutinize the business proposals students develop in the courses.

"This is a great program," she said. "It’s a very popular class with students."

USD 501 and Highland Park High were featured in the Huffington Post story, titled "Koch Heads: How the Koch Brothers are Buying their Way Into the Minds of Public School Students."

The story says Youth Entrepreneurs uses teaching materials provided in part by Koch-funded think tanks and meant to promote a picture of economics that suits libertarian ideals — for example that welfare programs are harmful and low taxes beneficial.

Ford described the course as "hands-on" and said it challenges students to brainstorm products and develop business proposals for them.

"That’s not easy to write a business plan," she said.

The program also provides some seed money for students to develop their ideas, she said, and the teachers help the students find summer internships at local businesses.

The classes are taught by USD 501 teachers with support from Youth Entrepreneurs.

Ford said she hasn’t seen anything in the program that raised red flags, and the school has a policy against teachers using their position to teach personal political beliefs.

But she also said she would review the matter in light of the allegations being made, and she welcomed reporters to view the curriculum and course materials.

"You’ve motivated me, maybe I need to turn every page of" the curriculum, she said. "I’m going to be honest, we have not looked at every page of that curriculum, but what I’ve seen being taught, I haven’t seen anything (problematic)."

According to an official course description, the class aims to teach students the basics of operating a small business, and "the importance of small business to Kansas, the United States and world economics."

The Huffington Post story includes interviews with a former Highland Park teacher who left the school at the end of the 2012-2013 school year, Taylor Davis, and with former superintendent Kevin Singer, both of whom expressed support for the classes. The article questions materials Davis reportedly used, including videos in support of libertarian views on matters like price-gouging.

Beryl New, principal of Highland Park, said Wednesday she isn’t aware of any biased material being taught in the classes. She said she hadn’t received complaints or concerns from students, parents or teachers about the matter, either.

"It’s really just about learning how to market any good," she said.