BILL NUMBER: SB 714 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 15, 2013
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 1, 2013
INTRODUCED BY Senator Block
FEBRUARY 22, 2013
An act to add Section Sections 46308
and 46309 to the Education Code, relating to schools.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 714, as amended, Block. Schools: average daily attendance:
online instruction.
Existing law establishes the public elementary and secondary
school system in this state, and further establishes a funding system
pursuant to which the state apportions funds to local educational
agencies based on, among other factors, the average daily attendance
of pupils at the schools operated by those agencies. Existing law
authorizes, commencing with the 2014-15 school year, for purposes of
computing average daily attendance, the inclusion of pupils in grades
9 to 12, inclusive, under the immediate supervision and control of a
certificated employee of the school district or county office of
education who is delivering synchronous, online instruction, as
defined, provided that this instruction meets specified criteria.
This bill, in addition to separate from
the authority related to online instruction described above and
commencing with the 2014-15 fiscal year, would authorize school
districts, county offices of education, and charter schools that
offer high-quality online education courses, as defined, to claim
attendance toward average daily attendance on the basis of a pupil's
attendance in an online course or courses that satisfy
prescribed criteria. satisfactory pupil progress
toward obtaining a high school diploma by earning course credit
through attendance in online educational learning programs, as
defined. The bill would require the Superintendent of Public
Instruction to adopt emergency regulations, on or before June 30,
2014, authorizi ng a school district, county office of
education, or charter school to receive state apportionments for
pupils enrolled in an online course or courses. The bill
would cap, as specified, the number of pupils a school district,
county office of education, or charter school may enroll in an online
course or courses, but would authorize an increase in that cap if
the enrolled pupils are achieving or exceeding satisfactory pupil
progress. The bill would also require a school district, county
office of education, or charter school that did not offer an online
course or courses in the 2013-14 school year but chooses to enroll
pupils in an online course or courses, to offer the course or courses
at the beginning of the school year and to submit semiannual reports
to the State Department of Education comparing the course credits
earned by pupils enrolled in an online course or courses to the
course credits earned by pupils enrolled in classroom-based courses.
The bill would authorize a school district, county office of
education, or charter school that operates an online educational
learning program to receive state apportionments for 3 consecutive
years and for an additional 3 years if semiannual reports are
submitted, as described above, and the enrolled pupils are achieving
satisfactory pupil progress. The bill would require a school
district, county office of education, or charter school that enrolls
pupils in an online course or courses to develop and adopt policies
that evaluate if a pupil is achieving satisfactory pupil progress and
if a pupil should be allowed to continue to enroll in the online
educational learning program. The bill would require a participating
school district, county office of education, or charter school to
submit pupil records for review by the department that compare the
course completion rate of pupils participating in the online
educational learning program to the overall course completion rate
for pupils enrolled in grades 9 to 12, inclusive, if the pupils
participating in the online educational learning program are earning
less than 75% of the course credits earned by pupils enrolled in
classroom-based courses. The bill would require the department to
develop a process authorizing a school district, county office of
education, or charter school to reduce the state apportionment it
receives for the online educational learning program if projected
pupil enrollment or satisfactory pupil progress is not being
achieved. The bill would authorize the department to reduce or
eliminate the apportionments a school district, county office of
education, or charter school receives for pupils participating in the
online educational learning program if the participating pupils have
not achieved satisfactory pupil progress or the semiannual reports
are not submitted. The bill would authorize a school district, county
office of education, or charter school to appeal a decision of the
department to reduce or eliminate the state apportionments received
for pupils participating in the online educational learning program.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 46308 is added to the Education Code, to read:
46308. (a) Commencing with the 2014-15 fiscal year and
in addition to Section 46300.8 , a school district, county
office of education, or charter school may claim state
apportionment funding apportionments pursuant to
Section 46309, on the basis of a pupil's satisfactory
pupil progress toward obtaining a high school diploma by
earning course credit through attendance in an online course
or courses online educational learning programs.
Online educational learning programs may include one online course,
multiple online courses, or a combination of online coursework and
classroom-based coursework. Online educational learning programs
shall be separate from online courses offered pursuant to Section
46300.8. Pupils shall be eligible to participate in online
educational learning programs if all of the following apply:
(1) The pupil is enrolled in grade 9, 10, 11, or 12.
(1)
(2) The pupil is a California resident.
(2)
(3) The pupil is enrolled in classes that include
courses in a classroom-based setting, courses that are offered
through an online program, or both.
(4) The pupil is not enrolled in a community day school or
juvenile court school.
(3)
(5) The pupil meets minimum instructional time
requirements pursuant to:
(A) Section 46141 and Section 46201, 46201.5, or 46202, as
applicable, for pupils enrolled in a noncharter school in a school
district or county office of education.
(B) Section 46170, for pupils enrolled in a continuation school.
(C) Section 46180, for pupils enrolled in an opportunity school.
(D) Subdivision (e) of Section 47612.5, for pupils enrolled in a
charter school.
(4)
(6) Each online course in which the pupil is enrolled
is a high-quality online course.
(b) For the purposes of this section, a "high-quality online
course" is defined as an online course that meets all of the
following requirements:
(1) The online course is approved by the governing board of the
school district or county office of education, or by the governing
body of the charter school.
(2) The online course is certified to meet the requirements of
this subdivision, through board resolution, by the governing board of
the school district or county office of education, or by the
governing body of the charter school.
(3) The online course is certified by the governing board of the
school district or county office of education, or by the governing
body of the charter school, as being as rigorous as a classroom-based
course and meeting or exceeding all relevant state content
standards.
(4) (A) A teacher teaching an online course or courses operated
pursuant to this section shall be accessible to each pupil enrolled
in the online course or courses to respond to pupil queries, assign
tasks, and dispense information. A teacher teaching an online course
shall employ at least one of the following:
(i) Periodic proctored examinations.
(ii) Direct teacher-pupil meetings, in person, no less than twice
per calendar month.
(iii) A visual connection, including, but not limited to, an
Internet Web camera.
(iv) Timely feedback on communications for pupils within 24 hours
and timely feedback for assessing pupils' work within 72 hours for
minor assignments and within one week for major assignments,
including, but not limited to, midterm and final examinations, major
projects, and compositions.
(B) Specific minimum standards for teacher-pupil contact may be
determined through a collective bargaining agreement.
(5) (A) The ratio of pupils enrolled in the online course who are
18 years of age or younger to school district full-time equivalent
certificated employees who provide online instruction, to be
calculated in a manner prescribed by the department, shall not exceed
the equivalent ratio of pupils to full-time certificated employees
for all other educational programs operated by the school district,
unless a higher or lower ratio is negotiated in a collective
bargaining agreement.
(B) The ratio of pupils enrolled in the online course who are 18
years of age or younger to county office of education full-time
equivalent certificated employees who provide online instruction, to
be calculated in a manner prescribed by the department, shall not
exceed the equivalent ratio of pupils to full-time certificated
employees for all other educational programs operated by the high
school or unified school district with the greatest average daily
attendance of pupils in that county, unless a higher or lower ratio
is negotiated in a collective bargaining agreement.
(C) The Superintendent may adopt rules and regulations for
purposes of implementing this paragraph.
(6) When a classroom-based course of the same course title exists
within the school district, county office of education, or charter
school, the subject matter content of the online course shall meet or
exceed the content standards applied to the classroom-based course.
(7) The teacher of the online course holds the appropriate subject
matter credential and meets the requirements for a highly qualified
teacher pursuant to the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (20
U.S.C. Sec. 6301 et seq.).
(8) (A) Statewide testing results for pupils enrolled in an online
course or courses are reported and assigned to the school in which
the pupil is enrolled for classroom-based courses, and to any school
district or county office of education within which that school's
testing results are aggregated.
(B) Statewide testing results for pupils enrolled in an online
course or courses may be disaggregated for purposes of comparing the
testing results of those pupils to the testing results of pupils
enrolled in classroom-based courses.
(9) The online course is offered by a high school, continuation
school, county office of education, or charter school offering
instruction in any of grades 9 to 12, inclusive.
(10) No pupil is assigned to the online course unless the pupil
voluntarily elects to participate in the online course and the parent
or guardian of the pupil provides written consent before the pupil
participates in the online course.
(11) No pupil voluntarily electing to participate in the online
course is denied access because the pupil lacks the computer hardware
or software necessary to participate in the online course.
(12) No pupil is charged for his or her participation in the
online course.
(13) A pupil enrolled in the online course shall take examinations
by proctor, or other reliable methods used to ensure test integrity,
and there is a clear record of pupil work, using the same method of
documentation and assessment as used in a classroom-based course.
(c) Nothing in this section shall affect a state board
determination made pursuant to Section 47612.5.
(d) Satisfactory pupil progress, as defined in paragraph (4) of
subdivision (e), and compliance with the requirements of subdivision
(e), shall be subject to the audit conducted pursuant to Section
41020.
(e) (1) Each high-quality online course shall be deemed to be an
offering of 60 minutes for purposes of calculating instructional
time.
(2) A pupil shall not receive course credit for the same
high-quality online course more than once.
(3) A pupil enrolled in a high-quality online course shall be
credited with a day of attendance for each schoolday the pupil is
enrolled in the high-quality online course and in accordance with
paragraph (5) of subdivision (a).
(4) "Satisfactory pupil progress" means a pupil has earned at
least 60 course credits in a school year.
(f) To remain eligible for claiming and generating apportionments,
a pupil over 19 years of age enrolled in an online course or courses
shall be continuously enrolled in public school and achieve
satisfactory pupil progress, as defined in paragraph (4) of
subdivision (e), toward award of a high school diploma.
(g) The Superintendent, on or before June 30, 2014, shall adopt
emergency regulations authorizing a school district, county office of
education, or charter school to receive state apportionments for
pupils enrolled in an online course or courses beginning in the
2014-15 fiscal year.
(h) To receive state apportionments, a school district, county
office of education, or charter school offering an online course or
courses meeting the requirements of subdivision (b) shall not be
required to meet the requirements of Article 5.5 (commencing with
Section 51745) of Chapter 5 of Part 28.
(i) (1) A participating school district, county office of
education, or charter school shall receive state apportionments for
pupils enrolled in a high-quality online course or courses based on
the number of pupils enrolled in an online course or courses in the
2013-14 school year, or the percentage of pupils authorized to enroll
in an online course or courses pursuant to paragraph (2), whichever
is greater.
(2) A participating school district, county office of education,
or charter school that did not offer an online course or courses in
the 2013-14 school year shall receive state apportionments for up to
10 percent of the total average daily attendance of pupils enrolled
in grades 9 to 12, inclusive, if all of the following conditions are
met:
(A) A participating school district, county office of education,
or charter school satisfies the requirements of subdivisions (a) and
(b).
(B) A participating school district, county office of education,
or charter school offers the online course or courses at the
beginning of the school year and demonstrates that at least the same
number of pupils that the school district, county office of
education, or charter school is eligible to receive state
apportionments for under an online educational learning program are
actually enrolled in the online course or courses.
(C) The participating school district, county office of education,
or charter school submits a semiannual report to the department
comparing the course credits earned by pupils enrolled in an online
course or courses to course credits earned by pupils enrolled in
classroom-based courses.
(j) For purposes of this section, "online educational learning
program" means a program of study that may include any combination of
courses where the teacher and the pupil are online at the same time
or are online at different times and do not interact simultaneously.
A pupil may enroll in online courses, classroom-based courses, or a
combination of both, during a schoolday to complete the pupil's
established program of study that satisfies the requirement of
achieving satisfactory pupil progress toward obtaining a high school
diploma by earning course credits.
(k) No provision of this section shall be waived unless the waiver
is specifically authorized in statute.
SEC. 2. Section 46309 is added to the
Education Code , to read:
46309. (a) A school district, county office of education, or
charter school that operates an online educational learning program
is eligible to receive state apportionments, pursuant to Section
46308, for three consecutive years. A school district, county office
of education, or charter school is eligible to receive state
apportionments for an additional three years if the school district,
county office of education, or charter school submits the semiannual
reports described in subparagraph (C) of paragraph (2) of subdivision
(i) of Section 46308, and the pupils enrolled in the online course
or courses are achieving satisfactory pupil progress, as defined in
paragraph (4) of subdivision (e) of Section 46308.
(b) A participating school district, county office of education,
or charter school may increase the number of pupils participating in
the online educational learning program by up to 100 percent of the
number of pupils participating in the first year if the pupils
participating in the online educational learning program achieve or
exceed satisfactory pupil progress, as defined in paragraph (4) of
subdivision (e) of Section 46308. The department shall make this
determination.
(c) A participating school district, county office of education,
or charter school shall develop and adopt policies that evaluate if a
pupil is achieving satisfactory pupil progress, as defined in
paragraph (4) of subdivision (e) of Section 46308, and if a pupil
should be allowed to continue to participate in the online
educational learning program.
(d) If, in any year of participation, the pupils participating in
an online educational learning program offered by a school district,
county office of education, or charter school are earning less than
75 percent of the course credits earned by pupils enrolled in
classroom-based courses, the participating school district, county
office of education, or charter school shall submit pupil records for
review by the department that compare the course completion rate of
pupils participating in the online educational learning program to
the overall course completion rate for pupils enrolled in grades 9 to
12, inclusive, in the participating school district, county office
of education, or charter school.
(e) The department shall develop a process authorizing a school
district, county office of education, or charter school, to
voluntarily reduce the state apportionments received for the online
educational learning program if projected pupil enrollment is not
achieved, or the pupils are not achieving satisfactory pupil
progress, as defined in paragraph (4) of subdivision (e) of Section
46308.
(f) The department may reduce or eliminate the state
apportionments a participating school district, county office of
education, or charter school receives for pupils participating in an
online educational learning program if the pupils have not achieved
satisfactory pupil progress, as defined in paragraph (4) of
subdivision (e) of Section 46308, for three consecutive years or the
school district, county office of education, or charter school does
not comply with the semiannual reporting requirements described in
subparagraph (C) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (i) of Section
46308. The department shall review the pupil records of pupils
participating in the online educational learning program to make this
determination. If the department decides to eliminate the state
apportionments a participating school district, county office of
education, or charter school receives for pupils participating in an
online educational learning program, the state apportionments shall
be eliminated in the year following the year the department decides
to eliminate the state apportionments. A participating school
district, county office of education, or charter school may appeal to
the state board the decision of the department to reduce or
eliminate the state apportionments a participating school district,
county office of education, or charter school receives for pupils
participating in an online educational learning program.