Recently, nearly a dozen Wisconsin schools almost had their doors closed forever. Metaphorically speaking, that is.

According to a Jan. 24 article in the Leader-Telegram, Wisconsin lawmakers were able to reach a compromise on an agreement allowing the state’s virtual charter schools to remain open and maintain their prior level of state funding. The deal was made in response to a December court ruling, which claimed the Wisconsin Virtual Academy, the state’s largest virtual school, was operating in violation of teacher licensing, open enrollment and charter school laws. This threatened to close about a dozen similar schools enrolling 3,000 students around the state.

Wisconsin lawmakers got it right by keeping the schools open, but there still is work to be done concerning these schools. Certainly, it would be wrong to rob the students of these schools that offer the type of education they need or desire. Virtual schools can give parents and instructors of home schooled students access to a guided curriculum and support network of staff, teachers and parents.

But it’s important to make sure there are definitive standards with these virtual schools. The fact that there needed to be a point in the bill stating that teachers are required to answer students’ questions in a timely manner shows the need for regulations of some kind. Instructors running the online courses should have a required amount of individual time with students and the curriculum should become more concrete. It’s also important to keep the average money the state gives to the schools for each enrolled student – about $6,000, according to the article – similar to traditional charter schools.

These online schools provide home schooled children an extra educational tool, something lawmakers were correct not to ignore. Still, the state government and the schools themselves need to make a concerted effort to provide students with a consistent and proficient education or else this issue may rise up again.