Two years after Arizona dropped its limits on the number of online schools, some educators and leaders say the state needs to regulate schools more closely to ensure quality.

But Arizona’s loose regulation is not unique.

Nationally, experts who have studied online schools say no state has model regulations for them. A growing number of states are increasingly bent on ensuring there are fewer barriers to the growth of online schools. The belief is that the marketplace will bring the needed discipline to the system as parents and students choose good schools and reject bad ones.

Arizona online schools get state funds, and students attend for free. The number of online charter and district schools has grown from 14 to 66 in the past two years.

Some Arizona political leaders are talking about possible changes that would bring more regulation of online schools.

Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction John Huppenthal was a strong supporter of online schools when he served in the Legislature. He says the state Department of Education needs to review the state’s online program and conduct a thorough analysis of student academic progress. He also favors random surveys of parents whose children are enrolled in the largest online providers to get their opinions on quality.

“I’m always in favor of more choices and more options, but I have more nervousness about this part of the K-through-12 environment than I have with other sectors because I always want to make sure there is real value being created for society by the public-education system,” Huppenthal said.

Sen. Rich Crandall, R-Mesa, chairman of the Senate’s Education Committee, favors changes that would encourage online schools to boost student achievement. Now that the state’s online program has been around for more than a decade, “it’s time to look at these policies in place and see, ‘Are we getting the best academic achievement for the money we’re spending?’ ” he said.