The representative was neither informative nor did she have any true representation that confirmed their accusations against Virtual Schooling. According to her testimony the monies that are going into the Virtual School districts from students that transfer into the district should not be used by the district for anything except online education. The monies, which amount to approximately 1/2 of what each school district receives, left in the originating district are kept and utilized even though the student is no longer attending the school. When asked if this was fair and shouldn't the constituents paying the money be reimbursed since the student was not being educated in the district the attorney said no, the money was still needed for education in the district.

The DPI at the hearing today also stated their case as being against the bill. They admitted to not doing research on the Virtual education until being sued by WEAC. They wish now to be in compliance in an effort to avoid further litigation. They also proposed that each district have their own virtual education so they can receive monies from other districts and that perhaps a state run virtual school would be a good alternative. I do not think that they realized that if each district had their own virtual school there would be no extra monies from transferring districts as there would be no need for transfers. This would also place more state mandates on parents who are educating their students at home, and still does not address their original issue that parents are not certified teachers. The concern here is that even if a parent is well educated they have not received proper secondary instruction on teaching modalities or behavioral modification. This is rather interesting considering that parents are the first teachers of children and that most parents utilize discipline with children in order to teach them proper behavior.

There were 600 people at this hearing that registered in favor of the bill and hundreds that spoke for it to pass. There were 7 people that signed against the bill and spoke for it to fail. Out of the hundreds that waited for hours to speak were several students, teachers (both virtual and brick and mortar), school principals, superintendents, school board members, parents, and other school and non school supporters.

One WIVA (Wisconsin Virtual Academy) student brought a science project to show the committee to prove that there were many projects and lessons that were included in her curriculum. Another impressive young 7th grader told the committee that he deserved to be heard and should have a say in how he was educated. He spoke of health issues he had and how his learning would be inhibited in a regular school setting. He told the committee that he was smaller than most boys his age and would not enjoy being "ridiculed." He stated "I see on the news about students that have been emotionally tortured by other students in school that end up losing their minds and shooting everyone in sight and then themselves. I do not want to be a victim or a statistic. I want to be a boy that is given the opportunity to learn and grow and eventually graduate into a well educated adult." His plea for consideration was met with applause.

I do not believe that this demonstration was a win for WEAC in spite of their numerous funds. Today's demonstration was a win for the students of Wisconsin who stood proud and well mannered in face of their opposition.