Brickbat: Learning a Valuable Lesson

Gov. Kate Brown's order to close all all public schools did not refer to online charter schools. But officials with the Oregon Department of Education say they believe the intent of that order applied to those schools and closed them, too. But while Brown's order was aimed at halting the spread of the coronavirus, the Department of Education has indicated that closing online charter schools is about protecting brick-and-mortar public schools. "Enrollment of new students to virtual public charter schools during the closure would impact school funding for districts across Oregon and therefore may impact the distribution of state school funds and delivery of services as directed under the executive order," the department said in a memo to local school districts. Online charter schools served some 13,000 k-12 students in the 2018-2019 school year.