'Perfection is not the standard': Iowa fast-tracks efforts to expand online learning, but some worry students will be left behind

Iowa education officials are fast-tracking efforts to expand online learning during the coronavirus pandemic as the state nears a third week of empty classrooms.

A newly formed continuing learning task force met for the first time Wednesday to develop a process to expedite approvals for new online programs.

“We’re doing it as quickly as we can while ensuring that we are doing it well,” Ann Lebo, director of the Iowa Department of Education, told members of the state board of education on Thursday.

And on Friday, the department reversed an earlier stance, saying schools can now require students to participate in online education during the shutdown.

That could give schools the go-ahead to set up online programs in the event the statewide closure is extended beyond April 13, when schools are currently set to reopen to students.

But how quickly would districts be able to develop online programs to replace traditional classroom teaching?

“If you’re just now taking your first steps into this, it’s not going to be an overnight process,” state Sen. Claire Celsi, D-West Des Moines, a public schools advocate, told the Register. "Some school districts are absolutely not going to be able to do that by the end of the year because they do not have a plan and capability or, quite frankly, the budget to be able to do something like this."

It took Des Moines Public Schools two years to develop the curriculum, train teachers and get technology in place for its Virtual Campus program. It's one of three districts statewide with an accredited online program.

But even with a program already in place, there are significant barriers to expanding online classes in a district that serves 33,000 students, said Sarah Doughery, Des Moines Public Schools’ director of teaching and learning.

“Those things include making sure everybody who needs it has access to a device, making sure everybody who needs it has access to WI-FI,” she said.

► More: The latest on the coronavirus outbreak in Iowa

Some districts have established one-to-one programs that pair each student with a computer or tablet, but that's not the case in Des Moines and many other districts across the state.

"Many kids do not have internet at home, and many kids have no access to a device that they could use for online learning," Celsi said.

The federal Disabilities Education Act also mandates that public schools provide free and appropriate education for eligible students. An estimated 14% of students in the United States receive special education services.

As schools consider moving classes online, some of those students may not be capable of adapting to an online environment.

"All those students who are not typical learners, we've got to keep them in mind, because what you get are inequitable solutions," Celsi said. "And the longer this crisis goes on, the more unacceptable that is."

Can Iowa's online programs take on more students?

On Thursday, as more than 500,000 Iowa students faced a fourth consecutive day without classes, students at Des Moines’ Virtual Campus were returning from spring break.

“We’re operating as normal,” Director Jonathon Mendoza said.

In its first full year of operation, Virtual Campus serves between 350 and 400 high school students. Classes are designed and taught by Des Moines Public School teachers who meet with students through video conferencing and online chats.

► RELATED: Des Moines, Norwalk and Urbandale schools report cases of COVID-19

Doughery, the district's director of teaching and learning, said that while it's not impossible that Virtual Campus could be expanded to accommodate more students, it's not a districtwide solution.

Each student enrolled in the program receives a computer and other required technology, and the district provides internet access to families that do not already have it.

Providing those items districtwide and training the staff to support an expanded program would be a huge investment, she said.

"We don't know yet (if that's possible), but everything is worth investigating when it comes to making sure kids get what they need," Dougherty said.

Two other Iowa school districts — CAM and Clayton Ridge — operate accredited online programs, although at least one of those programs has been closed during the statewide school shutdown.

The Iowa Virtual Academy is scheduled to reopen next week after receiving approval from the Iowa Department of Education, Clayton Ridge Superintendent Shane Wahls said Friday.

Based in Guttenberg, the Iowa Virtual Academy has been open for two years. It serves 540 students who open-enroll from 175 school districts across the state.

Unlike Des Moines, which operates its own program, the Iowa Virtual Academy is staffed with teachers from K12 Inc., a for-profit education company that sells online schooling and curricula.

Wahls said the academy would not be able to take on additional students this year.

CAM officials did not respond to requests for comment.

Schools scramble to provide enrichment programs

Across the state, school districts have scrambled to provide online resources for students during the shutdown, even if those resources do not count toward student credits.

In Johnston, which has a one-to-one program for students in grades 4-12, schools are providing newsletters twice a week with a video message from the school principal and up to three staff members along with a variety of learning resources.

"You can think of it as similar to a summer reading list: Here are some ideas, but it's not required; you will not get a grade for this," said Laura Sprague, the district's communications director.

"We know there are parents who want, 'This is the science lesson, this is the math lesson, this is the history lesson,' and in an ideal world, it would be there, but we're not set up to do that right now," she said.

► RELATED: Des Moines area schools launch grab-and-go meal programs for students

With new direction from the state, that might change for some districts.

Brad Buck, superintendent of Waukee Community Schools, said his district is exploring the possibility of adding online courses.

He said the district is taking a triage approach, looking first at requirements that students would need to graduate in May.

"Then once you get past (those classes), what's next is credit-bearing high school courses and how we can deliver those for our high school students," he said.

Waukee was already exploring online courses before the shutdown. It was planning a bond referendum for the fall to double its technology budget in hopes of providing a one-to-one technology program at secondary schools and a two-to-one program at the elementary level.

The district does not currently provide students with take-home computers or tablets.

It's now surveying families to determine what resources might be needed if Waukee were to move to a primarily online environment.

"What we're trying to figure out is who doesn't have machines and who doesn't have internet access and determining whether we can set up a system where we check out iPads or some Macbooks," Buck said. "Then we're also in a conversation about how to obtain hotspots for students that don't have internet access."

"Our real concern is kids who may already be in a disadvantaged circumstance having that disadvantaged circumstance further exacerbated by good intentions," he said.

Will Iowa's special education students be left behind?

Last week, the federal Department of Education issued a fact sheet encouraging schools that want to establish online programs to do so while schools across the county are closed during the coronavirus threat.

"Some educators ... have been reluctant to provide any distance instruction because they believe that federal disability law presents insurmountable barriers to remote education. This is simply not true," it says. "We remind schools they should not opt to close or decline to provide distance instruction, at the expense of students, to address matters pertaining to services for students with disabilities."

During the governor's Friday press conference, Lebo, the director of the Iowa Department of Education, said: "It’s important to grant local districts and schools flexibility to meet students' needs."

"The role of the Department of Education is to ensure we maintain a minimum standard of care while allowing the maximum opportunity for growth through flexibility at the local level," she said.

In its advisory to districts Friday afternoon, the Iowa Department of Education referenced the federal government's fact sheet.

"These are unusual times with unanticipated difficulties. Perfection is not the standard to be applied," the department said. "While previous (federal and state) guidance ... sought to highlight the need to ensure equity of access to programs or activities, it was not intended to prohibit or discourage schools from serving the students and families in their communities."

The department said the federal direction "does not eliminate a school district’s obligation to consider equity; rather, it states that equitable access may be met in many different ways."

That concerns advocates like Celsi, who worries that students with disabilities, those with individual learning plans and non-English-speaking students will find themselves left out as classes move online.

"I can see why some teachers and districts would be skeptical," Celsi said. "I'm all for districts making noncredit resources available to parents, but I am not for districts requiring work to be done online without some significant outreach to kids in these groups."

She hopes the state will require districts to establish arrangements for students with special needs before granting approval to begin online classes.

"I appreciate that the state wants to get some guidance out there, and I do agree with one thing in that recommendation," she said. "Pandemics are extraordinary circumstances, and maybe we need to revisit some of these guidelines, but the fact remains that the pandemic makes the circumstances worse for kids in these categories."

Charles Flesher covers K-12 education for the Register. He can be reached by email at cflesher@registermedia.com or by phone at 515-284-8481. Follow him on Twitter @CharlesFlesher.