Portland Public Schools recently announced a fully online option for K-12 students for the 2021-22 school year. This is notable for several reasons:
PPS has not previously offered a virtual school option at the elementary level. Their PPS Virtual Scholars program is limited to high school and offers a narrow range of online courses, not a full comprehensive educational program.
The Online Learning Academy (OLA) for 2021-22 will be a lottery. This means that families have to apply and wait to find out if they are accepted into the apparently limited enrollment spots. If there are more applicants than available seats in a grade level, students will be given priority based on a list of factors including whether they were enrolled in comprehensive distance learning (CDL) during the last quarter of 2020-21 and whether the medical condition that prevents them from attending school in person lies within the student or within the household.
Special ed students are eligible for the program and their IEP services will be adapted to a virtual environment. Same goes for 504 accommodations.
The lottery closes July 30th, which means families must complete the online application by that date. Enrollment will be for a full year or half year, not sure when/where that decision has to be made. As of July 11th it is unclear when kids under 12 will have access to the COVID vaccine in Oregon.