Douglas Pickett — Introduced RS 33030 C2 and began presenting the proposal.
Douglas Pickett — Called on to present first.
Douglas Pickett — Referenced as having just explained the existence of virtual charter schools serving full-time students.
Douglas Pickett — Begins a new question about IDLA's founding principles or goals.
Douglas Pickett — Praised the program, referenced his children benefiting from it, and raised concern that rural students could be crowded out under scarce resources.
Mr. Simmons — The next witness was called to identify himself for the record.
Mr. Simmons — Cited as saying IDLA was created to provide choice for students.
Mr. Simmons — Referenced as having noted that teachers reach out to school administrators and parents.
Mr. Simmons — Referenced again as having shared about the new requirements.
Mr. Simmons — The question about the original intent of IDLA was directed to Mr. Simmons.
Mr. Simmons — Explains that a statewide online program was seen as a solution because many districts could not scale online learning on their own.
Mr. Simmons — Continues explaining why a statewide program was needed to expand access.
Mr. Simmons — Says serving rural schools is part of IDLA's mission, while urban schools also have needs.
Mr. Simmons — Is being questioned about budget growth and operational efficiency.
Mr. Simmons — Responds that efficiency and lean operations are reviewed every year.
Mr. Simmons — Says IDLA reviews efficiency and lean operations every year.
Mr. Simmons — Explains that private programs often appear cheaper because they may include only curriculum and not a teacher.
Mr. Simmons — Continues explaining that private program pricing comparisons are incomplete because they may omit teacher costs.
Mr. Simmons — Says a $10 million cut would equal a 40% reduction and would mean fewer programs, fewer rural students served, and possible staffing cuts.
Mr. Simmons — Explains the impact of a $10 million cut on IDLA's overall funding and services.
Mr. Simmons — Describes annual independent audits, reporting to the board, website, and Department of Education, with no recommendations for the last three years.
Mr. Simmons — Explains the annual audit process and then answers a question about why teacher salaries are less than half the budget, citing part-time staffing and per-enrollment pay.
Mr. Simmons — Explains that teacher salaries appear lower because teachers are part-time and paid per enrollment without benefits.
Mr. Simmons — Explained that most IDLA courses are asynchronous.
Mr. Simmons — Explained asynchronous instruction and why IDLA does not require students and teachers to be online at the same time.
Mr. Simmons — Said IDLA instruction should not occur during the contract day and reported about $3.6 million in dual credit savings to families.
Mr. Simmons — Explained the top reasons students take IDLA classes.
Mr. Simmons — Explained that urban students use IDLA for scheduling conflicts and rural students use it for courses not offered locally.
Mr. Simmons — Said IDLA needs about 10 to 12 enrollments to break even on a class.
Mr. Simmons — Explained that urban enrollment helps IDLA meet minimum class sizes and support rural students.
Mr. Simmons — Acknowledged the concern about protecting rural schools under a 40% reduction and said IDLA is working with Representative Petsky on restructuring criteria.
Mr. Simmons — Begins responding to Representative Marmon's question about double funding.
Mr. Simmons — Explained that IDLA is a high-ROI investment and that alternative solutions would cost the state more.
Mr. Simmons — Explained that the funding model was established when IDLA was created and argued that losing funding would make the program less feasible for rural districts.
Mr. Simmons — Explained that IDLA is available to all students, including private school and homeschool students under certain enrollment arrangements.
Mr. Simmons — Explained that homeschool students can enroll through a local school or virtual charter school.
Mr. Simmons — Was asked to explain the funding mechanism for homeschool and private school enrollments.
Mr. Simmons — Explained that enrollments are reported equally and that homeschool funding depends on school-side arrangements and instructional time thresholds.
Mr. Simmons — Said that whether a student takes IDLA during school hours is a school decision.
Mr. Simmons — Said students taking classes during the day often do better because they have guaranteed time, device access, internet access, and supervision.
Mr. Simmons — Was asked to respond to the hypothetical double-dipping concern.
Mr. Simmons — Said the average student takes about one and a half IDLA classes per year and that full-time IDLA use during school hours would be rare and limited to special circumstances.
Mr. Simmons — The speaker is being asked to address oversight, accountability, and curriculum continuity concerns.
Mr. Simmons — Explained that IDLA has an eight-member board, annual reporting to the State Board of Education, course fee approval, and teacher/student reporting through the IEC system.
Mr. Simmons — Said IDLA completes annual audits and uses accountability systems comparable to a public district.
Mr. Simmons — Was asked to clarify whether public education dollars fund those enrollments.
Mr. Simmons — Explained that private, homeschool, and public enrollments are all reported to the state as enrollments.
Mr. Simmons — Clarified that private school students make up about 2 to 3% of enrollment and that homeschool students are reported through a public school enrollment.
Mr. Simmons — Answered that the organization does have AI-related policies and uses AI at the administrative level.
Mr. Simmons — Explained that AI is included in student acceptable-use and plagiarism policies, and that staff use AI for efficiency.