READ FIRST TIME 02/13/09.   

     AN ACT Relating to online learning; amending RCW 28A.150.262; adding a new chapter to Title 28A RCW; and creating new sections.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   (1) The legislature finds that online learning provides tremendous opportunities for students to access curriculum, courses, and a unique learning environment that might not otherwise be available. The legislature supports and encourages online learning opportunities.
     (2) However, the legislature also finds that there is a need to assure quality in online learning, both for the programs and the administration of those programs. The legislature is the steward of public funds that support students enrolled in online learning and must ensure an appropriate accountability system at the state level.
     (3) Therefore, the legislature intends to take a first step in improving oversight and quality assurance of online learning programs, and intends to examine possible additional steps that may need to be taken to improve financial accountability.
     (4) The first step in improving quality assurance is to:
     (a) Provide objective information to students, parents, and educators regarding available online learning opportunities, including program and course content, how to register for programs and courses, teacher qualifications, student-to-teacher ratios, prior course completion rates, and other evaluative information;
     (b) Create an approval process for multidistrict online providers;
     (c) Enhance statewide equity of student access to high quality online learning opportunities; and
     (d) Require school district boards of directors to develop policies and procedures for student access to online learning opportunities.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
     (1)(a) "Multidistrict online provider" means:
     (i) A private or nonprofit organization that enters into a contract with a school district to provide online courses or programs to K-12 students from more than one school district;
     (ii) A private or nonprofit organization that enters into contracts with multiple school districts to provide online courses or programs to K-12 students from those districts; or
     (iii) Except as provided in (b) of this subsection, a school district that provides online courses or programs to students who reside outside the geographic boundaries of the school district.
     (b) "Multidistrict online provider" does not include a school district online learning program in which fewer than ten percent of the students enrolled in the program are from other districts under the interdistrict student transfer provisions of RCW 28A.225.225. "Multidistrict online provider" also does not include regional online learning programs that are jointly developed and implemented by two or more school districts or an educational service district through an interdistrict cooperative program agreement that addresses, at minimum, how the districts share student full-time equivalency for state basic education funding purposes and how categorical education programs, including special education, are provided to eligible students.
     (2)(a) "Online course" means a course that:
     (i) Is delivered primarily electronically using the internet or other computer-based methods; and
     (ii) Is taught by a teacher primarily from a remote location. Students enrolled in an online course may have access to the teacher synchronously, asynchronously, or both.
     (b) "Online school program" means a school program that:
     (i) Is delivered primarily electronically using the internet or other computer-based methods;
     (ii) Is taught by a teacher primarily from a remote location. Students enrolled in an online program may have access to the teacher synchronously, asynchronously, or both;
     (iii) Delivers a part-time or full-time sequential program; and
     (iv) Has an online component of the program with online lessons and tools for student and data management.
     (c) An online course or online school program may be delivered to students at school as part of the regularly scheduled school day. An online course or online school program also may be delivered to students, in whole or in part, independently from a regular classroom schedule, but such courses or programs must comply with RCW 28A.150.262 to qualify for state basic education funding.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   (1) The superintendent of public instruction, in collaboration with the state board of education, shall develop and implement approval criteria and a process for approving multidistrict online providers; a process for monitoring and if necessary rescinding the approval of courses or programs offered by an online course provider; and an appeals process. The criteria and processes shall be adopted by rule by December 1, 2009.
     (2) When developing the approval criteria, the superintendent of public instruction shall require that providers offering online courses or programs have accreditation through the Northwest association of accredited schools or another national, regional, or state accreditation program listed by the office of the superintendent of public instruction after consultation with the Washington coalition for online learning. In addition to other criteria, the approval criteria shall include the degree of alignment with state academic standards and require that all teachers be certificated in accordance with Washington state law. When reviewing multidistrict online providers that offer high school courses, the superintendent of public instruction shall assure that the courses offered by the provider are eligible for high school credit. However, final decisions regarding the awarding of high school credit shall remain the responsibility of school districts.
     (3) Initial approval of multidistrict online providers by the superintendent of public instruction shall be for four years. The superintendent of public instruction shall develop a process for the renewal of approvals and for rescinding approvals based on noncompliance with approval requirements. Any multidistrict online provider that was approved by the digital learning commons or accredited by the Northwest association of accredited schools before the effective date of this section, and that meets the teacher certification requirements of subsection (2) of this section, is exempt from the initial approval process under this section until August 31, 2012, but must comply with the process for renewal of approvals and must comply with approval requirements.
     (4) The superintendent of public instruction shall make the first round of decisions regarding approval of multidistrict online providers by April 1, 2010. Thereafter, the superintendent of public instruction shall make annual approval decisions no later than November 1st of each year.
     (5) The superintendent of public instruction shall establish an online learning advisory committee within existing resources that shall provide advice to the superintendent regarding the approval criteria, major components of the web site, the model school district policy, model agreements, and other related matters. The committee shall include a representative of each of the following groups: Private and public online providers, parents of online students, accreditation organizations, educational service districts, school principals, teachers, school administrators, school board members, institutions of higher education, and other individuals as determined by the superintendent. Members of the advisory committee shall be selected by the superintendent based on nominations from statewide organizations, shall serve three-year terms, and may be reappointed. The superintendent shall select the chair of the committee.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   The superintendent of public instruction shall create an office of online learning. In the initial establishment of the office, the superintendent shall hire staff who have been employed by the digital learning commons to the extent such hiring is in accordance with state law and to the extent funds are available. The office shall:
     (1) Develop and maintain a web site that provides objective information for students, parents, and educators regarding online learning opportunities offered by multidistrict online providers that have been approved in accordance with section 3 of this act. The web site shall include information regarding the online course provider's overall instructional program, specific information regarding the content of individual online courses and online school programs, a direct link to each online course provider's web site, how to register for online learning programs and courses, teacher qualifications, student-to-teacher ratios, course completion rates, and other evaluative and comparative information. The web site shall also provide information regarding the process and criteria for approving multidistrict online providers. To the greatest extent possible, the superintendent shall use the framework of the course offering component of the web site developed by the digital learning commons;
     (2) Develop model agreements with approved multidistrict online providers that address standard contract terms and conditions that may apply to contracts between a school district and the approved provider. The purpose of the agreements is to provide a template to assist individual school districts, at the discretion of the district, in contracting with multidistrict online providers to offer the multidistrict online provider's courses and programs to students in the district. The agreements may address billing, fees, responsibilities of online course providers and school districts, and other issues; and
     (3) In collaboration with the educational service districts:
     (a) Provide technical assistance and support to school district personnel through the educational technology centers in the development and implementation of online learning programs in their districts; and
     (b) To the extent funds are available, provide online learning tools for students, teachers, administrators, and other educators.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   The superintendent of public instruction shall:
     (1) Develop model policies and procedures, in consultation with the Washington state school directors' association, that may be used by school district boards of directors in the development of the school district policies and procedures required in section 6 of this act. The model policies and procedures shall be disseminated to school districts by February 1, 2010;
     (2) By December 1, 2009, modify the standards for school districts to report course information to the office of the superintendent of public instruction under RCW 28A.300.500 to designate if the course was an online course. The reporting standards shall be required beginning with the 2010-11 school year; and
     (3) Beginning January 15, 2011, and annually thereafter, submit a report regarding online learning to the state board of education, the governor, and the legislature. The report shall cover the previous school year and include but not be limited to student demographics, course enrollment data, aggregated student course completion and passing rates, and activities and outcomes of course and provider approval reviews.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6   (1) By August 31, 2010, all school district boards of directors shall develop policies and procedures regarding student access to online courses and online learning programs. The policies and procedures shall include but not be limited to: Student eligibility criteria; the types of online courses available to students through the school district; the methods districts will use to support student success, which may include a local advisor; when the school district will and will not pay course fees and other costs; the granting of high school credit; and a process for students and parents or guardians to formally acknowledge any course taken for which no credit is given. The policies and procedures shall take effect beginning with the 2010-11 school year. School districts shall submit their policies to the superintendent of public instruction by September 15, 2010. By December 1, 2010, the superintendent of public instruction shall summarize the school district policies regarding student access to online courses and submit a report to the legislature.
     (2) School districts shall provide students with information regarding online courses that are available through the school district. The information shall include the types of information described in subsection (1) of this section.
     (3) When developing local or regional online learning programs, school districts shall incorporate into the program design the approval criteria developed by the superintendent of public instruction under section 3 of this act.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 7   (1) Beginning with the 2011-12 school year, school districts may claim state basic education funding, to the extent otherwise allowed by state law, for students enrolled in online courses or programs only if the online courses or programs are:
     (a) Offered by a multidistrict online provider approved under section 3 of this act by the superintendent of public instruction;
     (b) Offered by a school district online learning program if the program serves students who reside within the geographic boundaries of the school district, including school district programs in which fewer than ten percent of the program's students reside outside the school district's geographic boundaries; or
     (c) Offered by a regional online learning program where courses are jointly developed and offered by two or more school districts or an educational service district through an interdistrict cooperative program agreement.
     (2) Criteria shall be established by the superintendent of public instruction to allow online courses that have not been approved by the superintendent of public instruction to be eligible for state funding if the course is in a subject matter in which no courses have been approved and, if it is a high school course, the course meets Washington high school graduation requirements.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 8   Nothing in this chapter is intended to diminish the rights of students to attend a nonresident school district in accordance with RCW 28A.225.220 through 28A.225.230 for the purposes of enrolling in online courses or programs.

Sec. 9   RCW 28A.150.262 and 2005 c 356 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
     Under RCW 28A.150.260, the superintendent of public instruction shall revise the definition of a full-time equivalent student to include students who receive instruction through ((digital programs. "Digital programs" means electronically delivered learning that occurs primarily away from the classroom)) alternative learning experience online programs. As used in this section, an "alternative learning experience online program" is a set of online courses or an online school program as defined in section 2 of this act that is delivered to students in whole or in part independently from a regular classroom schedule. The superintendent of public instruction has the authority to adopt rules to implement the revised definition beginning with the 2005-2007 biennium for school districts claiming state funding for the programs. The rules shall include but not be limited to the following:
     (1) Defining a full-time equivalent student under RCW 28A.150.260 or part-time student under RCW 28A.150.350 based upon the district's estimated average weekly hours of learning activity as identified in the student's learning plan, as long as the student is found, through monthly evaluation, to be making satisfactory progress; the rules shall require districts providing programs under this section to nonresident students to establish procedures that address, at a minimum, the coordination of student counting for state funding so that no student is counted for more than one full-time equivalent in the aggregate;
     (2) Requiring the board of directors of a school district offering, or contracting under RCW 28A.150.305 to offer, ((a digital)) an alternative learning experience online program to adopt and annually review written policies for each program and program provider and to receive an annual report on its digital alternative learning experience online programs from its staff;
     (3) Requiring each school district offering or contracting to offer ((a digital)) an alternative learning experience online program to report annually to the superintendent of public instruction on the types of programs and course offerings, and number of students participating;
     (4) Requiring completion of a program self-evaluation;
     (5) Requiring documentation of the district of the student's physical residence;
     (6) Requiring that supervision, monitoring, assessment, and evaluation of the ((digital)) alternative learning experience online program be provided by certificated instructional staff;
     (7) Requiring each school district offering courses or programs to identify the ratio of certificated instructional staff to full-time equivalent students enrolled in such courses or programs, and to include a description of their ratio as part of the reports required under subsections (2) and (3) of this section;
     (8) Requiring reliable methods to verify a student is doing his or her own work; the methods may include proctored examinations or projects, including the use of web cams or other technologies. "Proctored" means directly monitored by an adult authorized by the school district;
     (9) Requiring, for each student receiving instruction in ((a digital)) an alternative learning experience online program, a learning plan that includes a description of course objectives and information on the requirements a student must meet to successfully complete the program or courses. The rules shall allow course syllabi and other additional information to be used to meet the requirement for a learning plan;
     (10) Requiring that the district assess the educational progress of enrolled students at least annually, using, for full-time students, the state assessment for the student's grade level and using any other annual assessments required by the school district. Part-time students shall also be assessed at least annually. However, part-time students who are either receiving home-based instruction under chapter 28A.200 RCW or who are enrolled in an approved private school under chapter 28A.195 RCW are not required to participate in the assessments required under chapter 28A.655 RCW. The rules shall address how students who reside outside the geographic service area of the school district are to be assessed;
     (11) Requiring that each student enrolled in the program have direct personal contact with certificated instructional staff at least weekly until the student completes the course objectives or the requirements in the learning plan. Direct personal contact is for the purposes of instruction, review of assignments, testing, evaluation of student progress, or other learning activities. Direct personal contact may include the use of telephone, e-mail, instant messaging, interactive video communication, or other means of digital communication;
     (12) Requiring state-funded public schools or public school programs whose primary purpose is to provide ((digital)) alternative learning experience online learning programs to receive accreditation through the ((state accreditation program or through the regional accreditation program)) Northwest association of accredited schools or another national, regional, or state accreditation program listed by the office of the superintendent of public instruction after consultation with the Washington coalition for online learning;
     (13) Requiring state-funded public schools or public school programs whose primary purpose is to provide ((digital)) alternative learning experience online learning to provide information to students and parents on whether or not the courses or programs: Cover one or more of the school district's learning goals or of the state's essential academic learning requirements or whether they permit the student to meet one or more of the state's or district's graduation requirements; and
     (14) Requiring that a school district that provides one or more ((digital)) alternative learning experience online courses to a student provide the parent or guardian of the student, prior to the student's enrollment, with a description of any difference between home-based education as described in chapter 28A.200 RCW and the enrollment option selected by the student. The parent or guardian shall sign documentation attesting to his or her understanding of the difference and the documentation shall be retained by the district and made available for audit.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 10   (1) The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall conduct a review of online courses and programs offered to students during the 2008-09 school year to create a baseline of information about part-time, full-time, and interdistrict student enrollment; how courses and programs are offered and overseen; contract terms and funding arrangements; the fiscal impact on school district levy bases and levy equalization from interdistrict student enrollment; student-to-teacher ratios; course and program completion and success rates; student retention and dropout rates; and how issues such as student assessment, special education, and teacher certification are addressed.
     (2) The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall also assess the level of funding provided for online course and program enrollment relative to the basic education general allocation, particularly for alternative learning experience programs. The assessment shall include but not be limited to a comparison of staffing ratios and costs, nonemployee-related costs, and facility requirements; and an analysis of the appropriate share of per-student allocations between resident districts and serving districts given the requirements for monthly progress reviews and direct personal contact.
     (3) The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall submit a report to the education and fiscal committees of the legislature by December 1, 2009.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 11   Sections 1 through 8 of this act constitute a new chapter in Title 28A RCW.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 12   If specific funding for the purposes of this act, referencing this act by bill or chapter number, is not provided by June 30, 2009, in the omnibus appropriations act, this act is null and void.