More Than Half of U.S. Districts Have Students in Distance Learning Programs
By David Nagel, T.H.E. Journal

A majority of public school districts in the United States have students who participate in distance education courses at some level, according to data released by the National Center for Education Statistics. But the most of those districts aren't delivering the education themselves.

The report, "Distance Education Courses for Public Elementary and Secondary School Students: 2009-10," indicated that a full 55 percent of districts have students who were enrolled in distance education courses in the 2009-2010 school year (the latest full school year for which such information is available). Half of those districts reported that students were participating in distance courses provided by a higher education institution, 47 percent from independent vendors, and 33 percent from state virtual schools.

Three-quarters of those respondents indicated that all distance courses in which their students were enrolled were developed by organizations independent of the district itself.

Student Enrollments
Of those districts, 96 percent reported they had students at the high school level enrolled in distance education programs; 19 percent at the middle school level; and 6 percent at the elementary level. Another 4 percent reported enrollments of students at combined or ungraded levels.

The total number of public students enrolled in distance education courses, however, was significantly less than half, with about 1.82 million course enrollments, all told (with multiple enrollments counted individually for students enrolled in more than one course). The total population of public school primary and secondary students was approximately 49.3 million during that period, according to ED's published statistics.

Read more: http://thejournal.com/articles/2011/12/01/more-than-half-of-u.s.-districts-have-students-in-distance-learning-programs.aspx

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indicated that a full 55 percent of districts have students who were enrolled in distance education courses in the 2009-2010 school year (the latest full school year for which such information is available). Half of those districts reported that students were participating in distance courses provided by a higher education institution, 47 percent from independent vendors, and 33 percent from state virtual