Rural Iowa students taking AP classes online; N.D. students push lawmakers for more AP access

A study released earlier this year by the Carsey School of Public Policy at the University of New Hampshire found that 47.2 percent of rural districts have no students in Advanced Placement classes, compared to 5.4 percent in suburban areas and 2.6 percent in rural ones. The problem is that many rural areas lack access to the courses or enough students or teachers to create classes. But some states are offering rural students the opportunity to take AP classes online, while in other states students are voicing the need for more AP classes.

In Iowa, some students travel to larger nearby schools to take AP classes, Gene Lucht reports for Iowa Farmer Today. "Others are taking advantage of the online program offered by the Iowa Online AP Academy" through the University of Iowa.

Through the program "schools work through the University of Iowa and a private company called Apex Learning to cover the cost of 12 AP courses," Lucht writes. "Participating schools must put a staff member in charge of logistics, and participating students must have a mentor at the school. The school must also schedule time during the school day for the student to work on the online class."

In North Dakota, 20 students in fourth through 12th grade spent this week at the Capitol for the inaugural meeting of the Student Cabinet, a select group that "will advise lawmakers and the Department of Public Instruction on bills and policy issues," Max Grossfeld reports for KFYR 5 in Bismark. Students will spend 15 months on the cabinet.

With an opportunity to affect state politics, "several students from rural districts said they wanted to join the cabinet because they felt their schools lacked adequate opportunities to take Advanced Placement classes or enroll in dual-credit courses," Amy Sisk reports for The Bismark Tribune.