A new virtual charter school offering two hours of artificial intelligence-based learning wants to expand into Pennsylvania.

The Unbound Academy proposal awaits approval from the Pennsylvania Department of Education. It operates at some private schools in Texas but its founders have had charter school applications rejected in Arkansas, North Carolina and Utah.

There are 14 cyber charter schools in Pennsylvania, serving more than 57,000 students.

Carol Burris, executive director of the nonprofit Network for Public Education, said kids already struggle with online learning, so an AI-based model may not help.

"As a former educator, I'm extremely concerned," Burris stressed. "Children don't do well in online schools, and this school promises even less instruction than a typical online charter school might."

Burris pointed out the Unbound Academy calls its instructors "guides" and has plans to open a brick-and-mortar location in Lancaster. An academy cofounder said online charters impart practical skills, help kids learn at their own pace and give homeschooled students another alternative.

The academy proposes a two-hour learning session for $5,500 per student. But in Arizona, its proposed fee is $2,000.

Moira Kaleida, executive director of the Pittsburgh-based Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools, said her group is asking legislators to tighten the state's cyber charter law to prevent anyone taking advantage of families.

"What we have seen with this Unbound Academy is, yet again, a conglomerate of kind of the same people making money off of each other," Kaleida contended. "Charging different prices in order to take the most advantage of a really poor law in Pennsylvania that would only serve to make them rich and hurt our children."

Kaleida noted her group has not seen proof of the learning model's success. She added test results to help prove whether the AI model is doing a good job of educating students are unverifiable.

"This model is being sold as some golden ticket and provable," Kaleida argued. "Where we have no research, no accountability, nothing to show that this is actually backed up by test results, by academics, by a peer-reviewed study."

State lawmakers seem to agree more financial transparency is needed for cyber charter schools, which currently are regulated the same way as other charter schools.

Arizona's largest high school district has stated it will not voluntarily help the Trump administration with its immigration promises by declaring itself a "safe zone" for all students, regardless of citizenship status.

The Phoenix Union High School District also announced it will conduct a series of "Know Your Rights" workshops for students and families. Data show about one in nine children in the state live with at least one undocumented family member.

Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, executive director and CEO for the social welfare group MomsRising, said they are hearing from parents and students around the country who said Trump's directives are inciting real fear for children and families, posing serious consequences.

"A terrified child in a classroom full of fearful children can't learn or thrive, and that creating a climate of fear at schools harms every child," Rowe-Finkbeiner emphasized. "We will demand that our government acts humanely and with compassion."

Rowe-Finkbeiner pointed out her organization has successfully worked with teachers to defeat book bans as well as supporting the need for civil and LGBTQ+ rights education in schools. She argued the immigration fight will be no different. Advocates also reminded people all children, regardless of immigration status, have the right to equal access to education, which, through the Family and Education Rights and Privacy Act, cannot be taken away.

Gaby Pacheco, president and CEO of TheDream.US, a national scholarship fund for undocumented students, said the stress children are facing today is what she called "unimaginable." She stressed the constant threats of raids at schools and the scare tactics being used are horrifying and inhumane but now is not the time to for people to back down.

"Immigrants are the easiest group to blame, the last ones to help and the first to be discarded," Pacheco contended. "We've seen it time and time again, and yet our children -- our immigrant children -- continue to dream."

President Donald Trump's border czar, Tom Homan, has said any potential raids on schools would be assessed on what he called a "case-by-case basis," and determined based on national security or public safety threats.


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A Wyoming bill to expand a school voucher program passed the House last week, despite a new survey showing most Republican voters in the state oppose the system.

House Bill 199 would offer up to $7,000 per student to families for nonpublic K-12 schooling. Proponents said the increased competition will improve education.

Kim Amen, president of the Wyoming Education Association, said the playing field is uneven because private schools do not have to post lesson plans and their students are not required to take state tests.

"If you're talking about competition, the competition isn't fair because one playing field doesn't have any accountability at all," Amen pointed out. "The other playing field has so much accountability, they can't keep up."

The proposed program is a revamped version of a 2024 Education Savings Account program. The new one offers more money, disqualifies pre-K students and gets rid of income requirements. A recent poll of nearly 700 Republican voters in Wyoming shows 68% oppose universal school vouchers.

There are questions about the bill's legality, as the Wyoming Constitution prohibits the state from giving money to most individuals and prohibits the use of public funds for private or parochial schools. The voucher funds would divert money from public schools. Amen argued it is an equity problem.

"Our rural communities do not have access to the private schools that our larger communities have," Amen emphasized. "When you talk about giving universal vouchers, if you're in Cheyenne, that might work out well for you. But if you're in Meeteetse, you don't have a lot of options."

Amen called Wyoming public schools and their employees "amazing." Meanwhile, President Donald Trump released an executive order last week prioritizing "educational choice."


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Kentucky is inching closer to its goal of having 60% of residents equipped with a college degree or credential by 2030.

The latest data from Lumina Foundation show slightly more half of people living in the Commonwealth have attained some level of education after high school.

Part of the increase is driven by actions to keep tuition down, and offer financial literacy resources to shrink the amount of money students are borrowing - explained Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education President Aaron Thompson.

"Just five years ago, we were at 55% of all students going to college getting a student loan," said Thompson. "Now we're at 40%. But we also reduced the amount of loans by 34% for all Kentuckians."

According to the report, in 2023, 10% of Kentuckians held an associate degree, and 18% held a bachelor's degree.

Only one-in-four U.S. adults say it's extremely or very important to have a four-year college degree in order to get a well-paid job in today's economy - and 22% say college is worth it, even if they have to take out loans, according to a Pew survey released last year.

But Thompson said educational attainment is critical for jumpstarting career advancement or finding a higher-paying job - especially among Black, Hispanic, and Native students.

"Proud to say we just got recognized as having the best completion rate success - I mean, from where we were at in the country," said Thompson, "partially because we were bringing those that were at the lowest up."

Thompson added that campuses could do a better job of helping households who are eligible for federal money though the FAFSA program apply for it.

"We left about $58 million on the federal table last year from FAFSA, when I was president of a campus one year," said Thompson, "as an example."

Nationwide, nearly 55% of people have a postsecondary degree or credential, and around 47% hold a bachelor's degree.

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.




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