Franklin County—the school system that recently wanted to prosecute homeschoolers who refused to send officials their kids’ birth certificates—has now decided that it likes homeschoolers so much that it wants them to enroll in an online public school program called Franklin Virtual Academy (FVA).

Homeschool families who switch will likely notice a dramatic loss of freedom.

But it might be a breath of fresh air for families whose kids now attend classroom-based public schooling and wish to enroll. FVA creates the opportunity for somewhat more parental input and may get a child out of a toxic social environment. While the public school is still in control, a move in this direction may give parents confidence and inspire them to seek the amazing freedom available through homeschooling.

A Closer Look

Here are a few things worth considering.

  • The program says students can work at their own pace, and I interpret this to mean that the child can work faster than the school requires. However, I expect there will be negative consequences for a student who does not finish assigned coursework within the program’s timetable.
  • Their materials say the courses are aligned with Pennsylvania Core Curriculum and use Pennsylvania certified teachers. Why Pennsylvania instead of Virginia? I don’t know. Aside from the academic content, parents should expect the courses to align with the ideological priorities that currently prevail in the world of public education.
  • Online public schools tend to produce dismal academic results—even worse than classroom-based schools. As online programs became popular during the early stages of the COVID pandemic, HSLDA published an article highlighting their poor performance. Parents would be wise to do careful research on how kids generally do academically in such programs before trusting them.
  • I have personally known several families who signed up for online public schools and were shocked when they were prosecuted for truancy after their student did not follow the program’s rules.

Don’t be misled. A student in an online public school is truly a public school student. Please contact us if you wish to clarify anything else.