Why Virtual Learning?
Why Do Students Need Virtual School Access?
Every child deserves a learning environment where they can thrive. For many students, virtual school isn’t a choice—it’s a critical lifeline. Yet across Maryland, school systems are limiting virtual schools to older grades, cutting synchronous (real-time) instruction, or shutting them down entirely. This leaves K-12 students who depend on virtual schools for a comprehensive education and learning community without an option in the public school system.
Virtual learning has changed lives. It provides a safe, accessible option for students with health challenges, disabilities, and mental health needs. It has created classrooms where diverse peers learn together, given bullied students a place to focus, and allowed student caregivers, advanced learners, and student-athletes the flexibility to succeed.
This isn’t about convenience—it’s about ensuring every child has a fair shot.
And here’s the thing: Maryland’s Blended Virtual model works. When done right—with real teachers, real classmates, and real-time instruction—it produces results. Students in these programs have performed as well as their in-person peers at demographically comparable schools, and they often surpass county and state averages—especially in the lower grades.
It’s also fiscally responsible and sustainable. A 2023 analysis confirmed that local virtual schools and consortiums can operate with existing funding. This aligns with the Blueprint’s minimum school funding model. Virtual schools can also be helpful in lean budget years by reducing overhead and transportation costs, making specialized courses more widely available with fewer resources, and lowering the demand for local systems to pay for expensive private placements. High-quality, synchronous virtual schools even bring students back into the public system, along with their funding allocations.
Eliminating or restricting virtual schools doesn’t just remove an option—it actively harms students who rely on them for academic progress, safety, and community. Families are left with impossible choices: low-quality private virtual schools, fragmented programs that isolate students, or reluctant homeschooling.
We urge leaders to:
1) Ensure synchronous virtual schools remain a permanent K-12 option.
2) Ensure eligibility criteria reflect the diverse needs of students and families.
This is about equity. This is about opportunity. This is about the future. By protecting and expanding high-quality virtual school access, we can create an education system that works for everyone.