Cyber School Bill - ACTION NEEDED!!

Attention Members,

On Wednesday, Jan. 18 @ 9:00 AM, it appears that the House Education Committee will be voting on SB# 619, which proposes unlimited cyber schools. If this bill is passed out of committee, it goes to the House floor. SB#619 has already passed the Senate. It is one of Governor Snyder’s NUMBER #1 priorities for 2012!

Michigan has 2 cyber schools which have just completed 1 yr. of a 2 year "experiment." Neither of these 2 schools passed AYP -Adequate Yearly Progress. In fact, the Michigan Virtual Academy received a warning letter that they were far below AYP.

Other states that have already implemented unlimited cyber schools are beginning to report that laws allowing caps to be lifted on these online schools are appearing to be nothing more than a giant siphoning of public money by corporations who back the cyber enterprises. And, just as Michigan is finding, the results of the instruction are not acceptable.

WRITE or CALL the House Education Committee TODAY and tell them to vote NO on SB 619 that lifts the cap on Cyber Schools.

Tell them that:
1) Cyber schools are not proving to be effective education
2) Cyber schools are just a way for corporations to take public money meant for public schools
3) While computer instruction is a great tool of education, it needs to be utilized as an addendum of a live teacher’s instruction;

WRITE OR CALL NOW! Please use your own phone and home email!

Tim McMillon – R - House Education Chair
Email: TomMcMillin@house.mi.gov
Phone: (517) 373-1773
Toll Free: (866) 969-0450

Thomas B. Hooker – R – Majority Vice Chair
Email: ThomasHooker@house.mi.gov
Phone: (517) 373-2277
Toll Free: (855) 866-4077

Kurt Heise – R – Plymouth
Email: KurtHeise@house.mi.gov
Phone: (517) 373-3816
Toll Free: (855) 737-5878 [855-REP-KURT]

Lisa Brown (D) is this area’s representative on the House Education Committee.