Georgia’s Learning Pod Protection Act Helped This Founder...But Do We Need Regulation?

Sharon Masinelli is the founder and head of school at St. John the Baptist Hybrid School in Kennesaw, Georgia, outside of Atlanta. Students attend the drop-off program two to three days a week, learning from an assortment of 30 educators, while homeschooling on the remaining days. Sharon launched her hybrid school in 2019 with 47 students. Today, her program has 120 students in kindergarten through 12 grade. 

In the summer of 2021, Sharon's program was threatened to be shut down by the county fire marshal. After the Institute for Justice sent a letter citing Georgia's new Learning Pod Protection Act, the fire marshal backed down and Sharon's program was able to operate. 

All of this leads us to grapple with the question of regulation, particularly for unconventional learning models like hybrid schools. Do we really need regulation, even if it seems to help founders? What are the benefits and drawbacks of such policies?

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