Rep. Matt Wingard on Oregon’s Virtual Schools, and the OEA’s efforts to Stop Them

One of the threats to those offering choice in the educational landscape is the continuing default positions of those in power and those dominant established interests. We see this in this country with home-based education. In the USA a current threat faces online Charter Schools. In this case teachers unions rather than looking out to the needs of young people default to their own  misguided self-interest.

On June 23, the House of Representatives debated SB 767, a bill written by special interests that could enable state bureaucrats to shut down online virtual schools in Oregon. House Republicans today opposed Senate Bill 767 to protect the ability of parents to seek alternative educational opportunities for their children.

In this clip, Rep. Matt Wingard (R-Wilsonville) tells the story of a successful online virtual school that is opening educational opportunities to thousands of Oregon kids. Rep. Wingard talks about the importance of these schools, and the effort by a powerful special interest group to deny these students an alternative education that meets their unique needs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUXACScdDIY