Local middle and high school students who are looking for an alternative education system will have a new option this coming school year.

iQ Academy, an online school for students in grades 7 to 12, recently launched in Washington, the fifth state to offer the program. The other four states are Arizona, Kansas, Wisconsin and Minnesota.

The public school is run through a partnership between KC Distance Learning, a company that also offers a private national online school and school materials, and Evergreen Public Schools, the school district based out of Vancouver, Wash.

iQ Academy is free to Washington residents. Students who need one can receive a free laptop while they are enrolled.

Every course's curriculum follows state requirements and includes teacher instruction via the Internet. For example, high school students are still required to complete a culminating project and pass the Washington Assessment of Student Learning or an approved alternative.

Another public online school, Insight School of Washington, has been around for a few years, but it doesn't offer middle-school-level courses.

Since teachers aren't sitting in the same room as students, lessons are computer-based and interactive, taking students step-by-step through the material. Online discussion forums allow students to interact with each other and their teachers.

For some students, the online school may provide more course choices than their current school. For example, middle school students can choose from multiple foreign languages, including Japanese and Mandarin Chinese. High school students can take Advanced Placement courses in more obscure subjects, such as psychology and microeconomics.

According to the school's Web site, students need to be self-motivated to succeed, but the school works well for students living in rural communities, disabled students who may have a hard time getting to school and those who need a flexible schedule.