BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Carol Liu, Chair
2013-2014 Regular Session
BILL NO: AB 342
AUTHOR: Blumenfield
AMENDED: May 24, 2013
FISCAL COMM: Yes HEARING DATE: June 26, 2013
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT:Daniel Alvarez
SUBJECT : Online instruction and independent study.
SUMMARY
This bill makes changes to provisions governing independent
study (IS) programs and legislation enacted last year
regarding online synchronous pupil instruction, as
specified.
BACKGROUND
Existing law
1) Allows school districts and county offices of
education to provide independent study as an
alternative instructional strategy, not an alternative
curriculum for pupils. Independent study students work
independently, according to a written agreement and
under the general supervision of a credentialed
teacher or teachers. While independent study students
follow the local educational agency (LEA) adopted
curriculum and meet the district graduation
requirements, independent study offers flexibility to
meet individual student needs, interests, and styles
of learning. (EC � 51745-51749.3)
2) Requires the majority of the state's revenue limit
funding (general purpose) allocated to local
educational agencies (LEAs) be based on average daily
attendance (ADA). ADA is the average amount of time a
pupil attends class under the immediate supervision of
a certificated employee. (Education Code � 46300 et.
seq.)
Within the current ADA requirements, LEAs are able to
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provide online courses to pupils in the following
ways:
a) Pupils are receiving online instruction in a
classroom setting under the immediate supervision
of a certificated employee.
(EC � 46300 (a))
b) Beginning in 2014-15, a school district or
county office of education may claim ADA for
revenue limit funding for synchronous, online
instruction, as specified. (EC � 46300.8)
c) Pupils are enrolled in a part-time or
full-time independent study (IS) program (i.e.,
the pupil may be taking regular classroom courses
and one or two IS program courses online). If a
pupil is enrolled full-time in an IS program, he
or she is required to produce a work product,
which is assessed by a certificated employee of
the district. (EC � 51745 et. seq.)
d) Pupils who have met the minimum
instructional requirement and are taking an
online course. Under this scenario, the pupil is
generating full average daily attendance (ADA)
for meeting the minimum instructional requirement
and the pupil is taking the online course in
addition to meeting minimum requirements.
e) Pupils are enrolled in a charter school,
which has less traditional accounting and
attendance requirements for its pupils; and
typically must meet statutory requirements, where
applicable, or regulatory guidelines adopted by
the State Board of Education.
ANALYSIS
This bill makes numerous changes to provisions governing
independent study (IS) programs, and legislation enacted
last year regarding online synchronous pupil instruction,
as specified. More specifically, this bill:
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1) Makes changes regarding the online synchronous pupil
instruction pilot program, as follows:
a) Deletes the reference to "synchronous,
online" and replaces it with "technology-based
synchronous."
b) Requires a technology-based synchronous
instruction course to be approved by a governing
board of the school district or county office of
education (COE), be as rigorous as a
classroom-based course, and meet or exceed all
relevant state content standards.
c) Allows for the disaggregation of pupil test
results in order to compare technology-based
pupils' testing results to the results of those
pupils enrolled in regular classroom courses.
1) Requires attendance for pupils participating in an
opportunity school or continuation high school IS
program to be calculated by prior year ADA.
2) Authorizes the pupil-teacher ratios for IS programs to
be different than regular school district programs, if
this ratio is established through a local bargaining
agreement.
3) Requires periodic contact between a certificated
employee providing instruction and a pupil to assess
whether satisfactory educational progress is being
made by the pupil.
4) Defines "periodic contact" as communication that
occurs at least twice per month and consists of either
in-person interaction or interaction through
electronic means, including, but not limited to, the
use of real-time, Internet-based collaborative
software that combines audio, video, file sharing, and
other forms of interaction.
5) Requires a certificated employee to notify a pupil and
his or her parent/guardian if satisfactory educational
progress is not made in an independent study (IS)
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program. Further prohibits a pupil from continuing in
an IS program without evidence of satisfactory
educational progress unless the IS program is
determined by the district or COE or charter school
administrator to be in the best interest of the pupil.
6) Defines "satisfactory educational progress" as meeting
measures such as applicable statewide accountability
measures and assessments, the completion of
assignments, locally approved or state-approved
formative assessments, required laboratories or online
workgroups, or other indicators the pupil is working
on assignments and learning required concepts, as
determined by the supervising certificated employee.
7) Requires a current written agreement for each IS pupil
to be maintained in a paper or electronic copy and
requires the written agreement to include a copy of
the governing board's IS authorization, as specified.
8) Repeals IS program provisions specifying the maximum
length of time allowed between assignments and
completion of these assignments and allowed missed
assignments prior to an evaluation of whether or not
the pupil continues in the program. Instead, this
bill requires a statement regarding periodic contact
between the pupil and certificated employee and the
identification of the accountability and assessment
measures used to determine satisfactory educational
progress, as specified.
9) Authorizes IS to commence upon receipt of an
electronic copy of a written agreement. Further
requires local education agencies (LEAs), as a
condition of apportionment, to retain written or
electronic documentation that demonstrates
satisfactory educational progress for IS pupils.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Need for the bill . According to the author, "For
those schools seeking to provide better education
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alternatives for students, but hampered by the
inflexibility of the traditional classroom, online
learning is proving to be a crucial complement to
classroom instruction."
The author further contends existing statute creates
barriers for school districts to offer asynchronous
online instruction (a certificated teacher is not
required to be online at the same time as the pupil).
Currently, districts offer this instruction primarily
through independent study (IS) programs. According to
the author, "Running asynchronous online education
classes through an independent study model has been a
band-aid approach to attendance accounting for online
courses, one that comes with significant auditing
requirements designed for paperwork compliance rather
than for quality of the program. These auditing
requirements drive-up costs and increase the
uncertainty of funding, creating a stark disincentive
for schools to offer online courses."
2) More on Independent Study (IS). According to the
State Department of Education (SDE), IS programs were
established in the late 1970s to accommodate child
actors, Olympic athletes, and other children whose
scheduled precluded regular attendance. The purpose
of these programs has expanded to any child whom the
local education agency (LEA) deems appropriate to be
educated in this manner. Likewise, prior to the
enactment of Chapter 579, Statutes of 2012 (AB 644,
Blumenfield), it was the only method in which LEAs
could receive average daily attendance (ADA) funding
for online instruction.
Independent study is only available as a voluntary
option chosen by students and parents-students cannot
be assigned to independent study. LEAs are not
required to provide independent study, so this
alternative instructional strategy is not always
available in a local school. Independent study can be
used on a short-term or long-term basis, and on a
full-time basis or in conjunction with courses taken
in a classroom setting. Classroom-based students may
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take some classes using independent study-often to
solve scheduling problems. LEAs can operate
independent study as a program within a school or as a
stand-alone alternative school of choice or charter
school. State law provides that the education
students receive using independent study should be at
least equal in quality and quantity to that offered in
the classroom. For kindergarten through grade twelve,
the ratio of independent study students to independent
study teachers cannot exceed the ratio of
classroom-based students to classroom-based teachers,
calculated in terms of ADA. General Fund apportionment
is based on ADA.
Districts, county offices of education, and charter
schools reported more than 128,140 students,
kindergarten through grade twelve, who were enrolled
as full-time independent study students in 2008-09.
An additional but unknown number of students use
independent study on a part-time basis in conjunction
with classroom-based instruction or on a short-term
basis. An additional but unknown number of students
also use independent study in adult education high
school diploma programs.
Because students in independent study work closely
with their teachers, in one-on-one meetings or small
group instruction, independent study can be a highly
personalized form of instruction. Independent study
(IS) also offers a high degree of flexibility and
individualization, so it can serve a wide range of
students.
3) Charter schools and IS programs . Under current law,
charter schools are required to comply with IS program
requirements. However, charter schools that provide
non-classroom based instruction (online) receive
funding under the SB 740 formula. SB 740, Chapter
892, Statutes of 2001, was enacted due to concerns
over profiteering and misuse of funds in charter
schools offering non-classroom based instruction.
Chapter 892 required the State Board of Education
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(SBE) to establish a system for determining the
appropriate funding level for these charter schools.
In order for a charter school providing at least 20%
of its instruction in a non-classroom based setting to
receive 100% of its ADA, the school must specify
conditions related to certificated personnel
supervision and minimum instructional time as
specified under the IS program. This bill contains
charter schools to receive apportionments under the IS
program. Currently charter schools receive
non-classroom based funds under the SB 740 formula.
4) Movement toward providing IS reasonable flexibility .
The notion of changing IS to strengthen assurances
that IS pupils are making satisfactory progress and
that IS is appropriate for them should be lauded.
However, the bill's definition of "satisfactory
educational progress includes meeting measures such as
applicable statewide accountability measures and
assessments?" " is somewhat vague. Since the
Legislature has begun to embark on a Local Control
Funding Formula (LCFF) and Accountability Program
(LCAP) that simplifies funding streams, eliminates
many categorical programs, and provides additional
resources for targeted pupil populations in return for
a more robust system of accountability that is outcome
oriented, staff recommends amendments referencing the
section of accountability found in the LCAP. The
amendment would be on page 9, lines 9 and 10, strike
out "meeting measures such as applicable statewide
accountability measures and assessments" and insert:
" measurable increases in pupil achievement as defined
in Section 52060 (d) (4 ).
This measure also envisions a somewhat more defined,
yet flexible approach to periodic contact between
pupils and teacher. This bill establishes a minimum
of "twice per month either in person or interaction
through electronic means." A minimum of
pupil-teacher contact of at least twice a month seems
reasonable. However, staff recommends an amendment to
ensure the minimal twice a month contact be separated
by at least five days . This will ensure that
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back-to-back days of pupil-teacher contact do not
fulfill the bill's "periodic" contact requirement; and
hopefully ensure a more robust approach to
pupil-teacher contact. In addition, no student should
be denied enrollment in IS due to lack of access to
electronic devices meant to keep them in contact with
their teacher; therefore, staff recommends amendments
on page 8, line 31 after the period, If a school
district or county office elects to have interaction
through electronic means and if a pupil chooses to
enroll in IS and does not have access to the necessary
equipment, the school district or county office of
education shall provide, for each pupil who chooses to
enroll in IS access to the computer hardware and
software necessary to participate in IS.
Staff also recommends amendments making the
independent study (IS) changes effective July 1, 2014 .
If the measure is signed into law on January 1, 2014,
all changes to IS would be effective as of that date
-- this would require school districts and COEs to
immediately comply with all the changes envisioned by
this measure. This could lead to unintended audit
exceptions not envisioned by the author. Therefore,
delaying the effective date of IS changes to July 1,
2014 would be a reasonable change because it will give
school districts and county offices of education time
to adopt new policies, thereby minimizing any
noncompliant audit findings.
Staff recommends amendments that direct the
Superintendent of Public Instruction to develop
regulations for purposes of complying with electronic
copies, documents, or signatures as defined on page
10.
5) Staff recommends the following technical amendments:
On page 5, line 2, after "that" insert:
,at a minimum,
On page 7, lines 8 and 16, after
"locally" insert: collectively
1) AB 644 (Blumenfield), Chapter 579, Statues of 2012 ,
authorized a school district or county offices of
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education to claim, for revenue limit funding purposes
(general purpose funding), the attendance for pupils
in grades 9-12 who are participating in synchronous,
online courses, commencing with the 2014-15 school
year, as specified.
SUPPORT
Contra Costa County Superintendents' Coalition
Small School Districts' Association
Santa Clara County Office of Education
San Diego County Office of Education
OPPOSITION
None on file.