La. First Online Charter School

BATON ROUGE — Enrollment is about to begin for Louisiana's first online charter school for students from kindergarten through 12th grade, which could radically change the way children are educated. The Baton Rouge-based school, Louisiana Connections Academy, will start accepting applications on Friday and plans to begin operations for up to 500 students later this year. The school was approved by the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education in December. Backers see such schools as a way to attract a wide range of disaffected students who might otherwise drop out. But some public school leaders contend online charter schools carry too many unanswered questions.