First you say this:
This next year they are insisting on a Chromebook.
And then you say this:
My question is: Can I achieve the same effect running a Chrome browser
on her Windows laptop? Alternatively is it possible to dual boot
ChromeOS or run in a VM?
From my understanding of how Chrome works, a Windows laptop running Chrome would work just as well. But if the school is insisting on a Chromebook it could simply be because they want to eliminate the risk of rogue/infected Windows clients from being on their network. Requiring students use machines that are—for lack of a better term—“dumber” than a full-fledged Windows machine simplifies the life of the I.T. administrators at the school.
Now I am not saying that any Windows machine on any network is a risk, but judging by the pattern you describe—first Windows, then iPad and now Chromebook—it seems like the school’s I.T. department is trying to ensure that all clients on their network are as usable and not a potential security risk.
My guess is they had problems with the Windows machines so then decided iPads would work better. But then use of iPads was seen as too cumbersome, too limiting and too costly to some students, thus the new Chromebook “requirement.”
All that said, this all seems excessive and costly for all students and families involved. Also seems quite ham-fisted in implementation if you ask me.
So I would recommend that you—as a parent who has now purchased two machines for one student and now is being asked to purchase a 3rd—to push-back on the school requirements and simply ask “You’re now asking me and other parents to purchase a 3rd piece of hardware for my child just for school. Why can’t she just use the Windows laptop with Chrome?”