It’s the first day of school for kids in North Carolina, and wow has it been a doozie.

As schools across the state opened their doors virtually, the platform school districts are using went down, leaving students in the dark (literally).

Not all students were impacted. The first day of school launched without a hitch for full-time online charter schools students. No widespread outages, no glitches… just learning as usual.

This stark difference comes on the heels of a decision by the State Board of Education to deny the state’s virtual charter schools from expanding enrollment during the pandemic.

Here’s what North Carolina State Senate Leader Phil Berger had to say about the situation:

Meanwhile, the virtual charter schools, which @NC_Governor-controlled Board of Education prohibited from expanding, are fully up and running.

The consequences of the State Board choice to deny additional educational opportunities are already on full display. #ncpol https://t.co/nUDOfpP6lN

— Senator Phil Berger (@SenatorBerger) August 17, 2020

Yep. Couldn’t agree more.

Similar to what we’ve seen in other states this summer, an unprecedented number of North Carolina families were seeking enrollment in full-time virtual schools. Families fearful of repeating the debacle that was Spring 2020, wanted full-time online schools because these programs have been successfully educating children fully online for years. From the technology and resources to teacher training, these schools have online education down to a science.

Unfortunately, the state’s enrollment cap prevented families from being able to enroll. Rather than letting parents choose what’s best for their child, the State Board’s decision last week forced parents to stay in their district schools. Schools that are designed to offer in-person education, and lack the technology and resources to deliver an online-only education.

This begs the question—when will state officials understand parents know best?