The West Virginia legislature passed the bill based on the following findings about virtual learning:

• West Virginia schools have improved and expanded Internet access, which enables schools to offer courses through the Internet, and other new and developing technologies.
• Current technology is available to provide students with more resources for learning, and new and developing technologies offer even more promise for expanded opportunities.
• A number of other states and other jurisdictions have developed Internet-based instruction which is available currently and which is being used by schools in the state.
• To better educate the students of West Virginia, more course and class offerings can be made available through technology, especially to students who are geographically disadvantaged.

The WVVS offers required courses in English, mathematics, science, and social studies. Advanced Placement courses are also offered and are among the most requested services of the Virtual School. Additionally, elective, enrichment, and remediation classes are available, including several Information Technology courses. A variety of upper-level mathematics and Foreign Language courses are also available. The courses are brokered by the WVVS for the students of WV from online course providers. The approved courses are carefully evaluated to ensure content alignment with State Content Standards and are also evaluated using the Southern Regional Education Board's "Essential Principles of Quality Checklist."

Additionally, West Virginia has partnered with the Florida Virtual School to develop and deliver Spanish courses. Twenty-seven middle schools in WV are currently using the courses to meet West Virginia State Board Policy 2510 which requires that a foreign language offering equivalent to one high school credit be offered at the middle-school level. Other high school students in the state are taking Spanish through the advanced placement level via the initiative.

Since its inception, E-School's "customer" base has expanded from 96 students in 12 schools to 500 students from 45 schools in 2002-2003. E-School, which supplements 70 standards-based courses offered at the high schools statewide, bridges the "digital divide" by increasing learning opportunities for students from neighbor island rural schools. Small neighbor island schools often represent an under-served population of Hawaii's school-aged students. New figures indicate that distance education is serving this population with 47% of the schools and 43% of the students participating in E-School coming from the neighbor islands. This represents a high percentage of neighbor island participation because only 32.8% of all schools and 32.4% of the overall student population are from the neighbor islands. Over the course of the grant period, more than seventy courses have been developed and many are offered to public high school students through E-School.

Virtual learning, as exemplified by Hawaii's E-School, has become a critical resource for the state to address geographic inequities. E-School will continue to explore opportunities to capitalize on web-based delivery to meet and exceed NCLB expectations.