Alabama's Virtual Schools in Crisis | Birmingham News

Birmingham AL News Today | 2 Min News | The Daily News Now! · Jul 20, 2026 · 1m

Alabama’s state superintendent warns that statewide virtual schools—run by private vendors and lacking direct state oversight—are underperforming, with one so bad it needed a new performance category. While virtual learning offers vital options for students with medical or other challenges, experts say nationwide virtual programs often rank as the lowest-performing education sector, partly due to harder-to-monitor student engagement and pre-existing student struggles. Dr. Mackey plans to release a full report this fall on funding, performance, and oversight, as parents navigate evolving…