That’s the title of my column today at NJ Spotlight: is the dissent around this issue about education or turf? We already blend online learning and traditional instruction, so what’s the ruckus really about?

There’s a ruckus at the New Jersey Department of Education. 

New Jersey’s charter school legislation is 17 years old, dating back to the dawn of the Internet era. It’s showing its age. Commissioner of Education Chris Cerf believes he can use DOE-issued regulations to bring the law up to date. But others think he’s arrogantly bypassing the legislative process. 

More offensive to certain lobbying groups, primarily the NJEA and Education Law Center (ELC), the most recent draft of these proposed regulations would remove the requirement that charters serve “contiguous school districts” and implicitly allow the establishment of online charter schools.

Read the rest here.