Amended in Assembly May 20, 2014

Amended in Senate May 24, 2013

Amended in Senate May 7, 2013

Amended in Senate April 15, 2013

Amended in Senate April 1, 2013

Senate Bill No. 714

Introduced by Senator Block

February 22, 2013

An act to begin delete add and repeal Sections 46308 and 46309 of end delete begin insert amend Section 51745.6 of, and to add Sections 51749.5 and 51749.6 to, end insert the Education Code, relating to begin delete schools. end delete begin insert pupil instruction. end insert

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 714, as amended, Block. begin delete Schools: average daily attendance: online instruction. end delete begin insert Pupil instruction: independent study. end insert

begin insert

(1) Existing law authorizes the governing board of a school district or a county office of education to offer independent study to meet the educational needs of pupils in accordance with prescribed criteria.

end insert begin insert

This bill would, notwithstanding any other law, commencing with the 2015-16 school year and ending on June 30, 2022, authorize a school district or county office of education to offer independent study courses in accordance with prescribed conditions, including, among others, that the courses be taught under the general supervision of certificated employees who hold the appropriate subject matter credential, that the courses are annually certified, by school district or county office of education governing board resolution, to be of the same rigor and educational quality as equivalent classroom-based courses, and that certificated employees assess whether each pupil is making satisfactory educational progress and conduct teacher-pupil meetings in person at least twice per calendar month. The bill would provide that statewide testing results for pupils enrolled in these courses shall be reported and assigned to the school in which a 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. The bill also would provide that a signed learning agreement, as specified, shall be completed and on file, and would specify the computation of average daily attendance for these courses. The bill would prohibit pupils from being required to enroll in the courses.

end insert begin insert

(2) Existing law requires the ratio of average daily attendance for independent study pupils 18 years of age or less to full-time equivalent certificated employees responsible for independent study to not exceed a specified ratio.

end insert begin insert

This bill would revise the pupil-to-teacher ratios by grade span, as specified.

end insert begin delete

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.

end delete begin delete

This bill, separate from the authority related to online instruction described above, subject to the adoption by the Superintendent of Public Instruction of implementing rules and regulations on or before January 1, 2015, and commencing with the 2015-16 fiscal year, would authorize school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools providing classroom-based instruction that offer high-quality online education courses, as defined, to claim up to 10% of the total average daily attendance of pupils enrolled in grades 9 to 12, inclusive, on the basis of a pupil’s 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 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. The bill would also require a school district, county office of education, or charter school providing classroom-based instruction that did not offer an online course or courses in the 2014-15 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.

end delete begin delete

The bill would authorize a school district, county office of education, or charter school providing classroom-based instruction that operates an online educational learning program to receive state apportionments for up to 10% of the total average daily attendance of pupils enrolled in grades 9 to 12, inclusive, 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.

end delete

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

begin insert

begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 51745.6 of the end insert begin insert Education Code end insert begin insert is amended
to read: end insert

51745.6.  

(a)  begin insert (1) end insert begin insert   end insert The ratio of average daily attendance for
independent study pupils 18 years of age or less to school district
full-time equivalent certificated employees responsible for
independent begin delete study, end delete begin insert study by grade span, end insert calculated as specified
by the begin delete State Department of Education, end delete begin insert department, end insert shall not exceed
the equivalent ratio of pupils to full-time certificated employees
for all other educational programs operated by the school begin delete district. end delete
begin insert district for the applicable grade span, unless a new higher or lower
grade span ratio for all other educational programs offered within
the respective grade span is negotiated in a collective bargaining
agreement, or a memorandum of understanding is entered into
that indicates that an existing collective bargaining agreement
contains an alternative grade span ratio for the applicable grade
span. end insert The ratio of average daily attendance for independent study
pupils 18 years of age or less to county office of education full-time
equivalent certificated employees responsible for independent
begin delete study, to be calculated in a manner prescribed by the State
Department of Education, end delete begin insert study, calculated as specified by the
department, end insert 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
largest average daily attendance of pupils in that begin delete county. end delete begin insert county
for the applicable grade span, unless a new higher or lower grade
span ratio for all other educational programs offered within the
respective grade span is negotiated in a collective bargaining
agreement, or a memorandum of understanding is entered into
that indicates that an existing collective bargaining agreement
contains an alternative grade span ratio for the applicable grade
span. end insert The computation of begin delete those end delete begin insert these end insert ratios shall be performed
annually by the reporting agency at the time of, and in connection
with, the second principal apportionment report to the
begin delete Superintendent of Public Instruction. end delete begin insert Superintendent. end insert

begin insert

(2) For purposes of this section, the following grade spans shall
apply:

end insert begin insert

(A) Kindergarten and grades 1 to 3, inclusive.

end insert begin insert

(B) Grades 4 to 6, inclusive.

end insert begin insert

(C) Grades 7 to 8, inclusive.

end insert begin insert

(D) Grades 9 to 12, inclusive.

end insert

(b) Only those units of average daily attendance for independent
study that reflect a pupil-teacher ratio that does not exceed the
begin delete ratio end delete begin insert applicable grade span ratios end insert described in subdivision (a)
shall be eligible for apportionment pursuant to Section begin delete 42238.5, end delete
begin insert 42238.05, end insert for school districts, and Section begin delete 2558, end delete begin insert 2575, end insert for county
offices of education. Nothing in this section shall prevent a school
district or county office of education from serving additional units
of average daily attendance greater than the begin delete ratio end delete begin insert applicable grade
span ratios end insert described in subdivision (a), except that those additional
units shall not be funded pursuant to Section begin delete 42238.5 end delete begin insert 42238.05 end insert or
Section begin delete 2558. end delete begin insert 2575. end insert

(c) The calculations performed for purposes of this section shall
not include either of the following:

(1) The average daily attendance generated by special education
pupils enrolled in special day classes on a full-time basis, or the
teachers of those classes.

(2) The average daily attendance or teachers in necessary small
schools that are eligible to receive funding pursuant to Article 4
(commencing with Section 42280) of Chapter 7 of Part 24.

begin delete

(d) The pupil-teacher ratio described in subdivision (a) in a
unified school district participating in the class size reduction
program pursuant to Chapter 6.10 (commencing with Section
52120) may, at the school district’s option, be calculated separately
for kindergarten and grades 1 to 6, inclusive, and for grades 7 to
12, inclusive.

end delete begin delete

(e)

end delete

begin insert (d) end insert  The begin insert applicable end insert pupils-to-certificated-employee begin delete ratio end delete begin insert grade
span ratios end insert described in subdivision (a) may, in a charter school,
be calculated by using a fixed pupils-to-certificated-employee ratio
of 25 to one, or by being a ratio of less than 25 pupils per
certificated employee. All charter school pupils, regardless of age,
shall be included in begin insert the applicable end insert pupil-to-certificated-employee
begin insert grade span end insert ratio calculations.

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 51749.5 is added to the end insert begin insert Education Code end insert begin insert , to
read: end insert

begin insert

begin insert 51749.5. end insert   

(a) Notwithstanding any other law, and commencing
with the 2015-16 school year, a school district or county office of
education may, for pupils enrolled in grades 9 to 12, inclusive,
provide independent study courses pursuant to the following
conditions:

(1) The governing board of a participating school district or
county office of education adopts policies, at a public meeting,
that comply with the requirements of this section and any
applicable regulations adopted by the state board.

(2) A signed learning agreement is completed and on file
pursuant to Section 51749.6.

(3) Courses are taught under the general supervision of
certificated employees who hold the appropriate subject matter
credential pursuant to Section 44300 or 44865, meet the
requirements for highly qualified teachers pursuant to the federal
No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 6301 et seq.),
and are employed by the school district or county office of
education at which the pupil is enrolled, or by a school district or
county office of education that has a memorandum of
understanding to provide the instruction in coordination with the
school district or county office of education at which the pupil is
enrolled.

(4) (A) Courses are annually certified, by school district or
county office of education governing board resolution, to be of the
same rigor and educational quality as equivalent classroom-based
courses, including all relevant local and state content standards.

(B) This certification shall, at a minimum, include the duration,
number of equivalent daily instructional minutes for each school
day that a pupil is enrolled, number of equivalent total instructional
minutes, and number of course credits for each course. This
information shall be consistent with that of equivalent
classroom-based courses.

(5) Pupils enrolled in courses authorized by this section shall
meet the applicable age requirements established pursuant to
Sections 46300.1 and 46300.4.

(6) Pupils enrolled in courses authorized by this section shall
meet the applicable residency and enrollment requirements
established pursuant to Sections 46300.2, 48204, and 51747.3.

(7) (A) Certificated employees shall assess whether each pupil
is making satisfactory educational progress.

(B) For purposes of this section, satisfactory educational
progress includes, but is not limited to, applicable statewide
accountability measures and the completion of assignments,
examinations, or other indicators that evidence that the pupil is
working on assignments, learning required concepts, and
progressing toward successful completion of the course, as
determined by certificated employees providing instruction.

(C) If satisfactory educational progress is not being made,
certificated employees providing instruction shall notify the pupil
and, if the pupil is less than 18 years of age, the pupil’s parent or
legal guardian, and conduct an evaluation to determine whether
it is in the best interest of the pupil to remain in the course or
whether he or she should be referred to an alternative program,
which may include, but is not limited to, a regular school program.
A written record of the findings of an evaluation made pursuant
to this subdivision shall be treated as a mandatory interim pupil
record. The record shall be maintained for a period of three years
from the date of the evaluation and, if the pupil transfers to another
California public school, the record shall be forwarded to that
school.

(D) Written or computer-based evidence of satisfactory
educational progress, as defined in subparagraph (B), shall be
retained for each course and pupil. At a minimum, this evidence
shall include a grade book or summary document that, for each
course, lists all assignments, examinations, and associated grades.

(8) (A) Certificated employees responsible for the instruction
and general supervision of courses authorized by this section shall
do all of the following:

(i) Use a proctor if administering an examination.

(ii) Conduct teacher-pupil meetings in person at least twice per
calendar month.

(iii) Establish a live visual connection with pupils, including,
but not limited to, by using an Internet Web camera.

(B) This section shall not be deemed to prohibit the right to
collectively bargain any matter within the scope of representation
pursuant to Section 3543.2 of the Government Code.

(9) (A) Statewide testing results for pupils enrolled in courses
authorized by this section shall be 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 courses
authorized by this section may be disaggregated for purposes of
comparing the testing results of those pupils with the testing results
of pupils enrolled in classroom-based courses.

(10) A pupil shall not be required to enroll in courses authorized
by this section.

(11) The pupil-to-certificated employee ratio limitations
established pursuant to Section 51745.6 are applicable to courses
authorized by this section.

(12) For each pupil, the combined equivalent daily instructional
minutes for enrolled courses authorized by this section and enrolled
courses authorized by all other laws and regulations shall meet
the applicable minimum instructional day requirements. Pupils
enrolled in courses authorized by this section shall be offered the
minimum annual total equivalent instructional minutes pursuant
to Sections 46200 to 46208, inclusive.

(b) For purposes of computing average daily attendance for
each pupil enrolled in one or more courses authorized by this
section, the following computations shall apply:

(1) (A) For each school day, add the combined equivalent daily
instructional minutes, as certified in paragraph (4) of subdivision
(a), for courses authorized by this section in which the pupil is
enrolled.

(B) For each school day, add the combined daily instructional
minutes of courses authorized by all other laws and regulations
in which the pupil is enrolled and for which the pupil meets
applicable attendance requirements.

(C) For each school day, add the sum of subparagraphs (A)
and (B).

(2) If subparagraph (C) of paragraph (1) meets applicable
minimum school day requirements for each school day, credit each
school day that the pupil is demonstrating satisfactory educational
progress pursuant to the requirements of this section, with up to
one school day of attendance.

(3) (A) Using credited school day attendance pursuant to
paragraph (2), calculate average daily attendance pursuant to
Section 41601 for each pupil.

(B) The average daily attendance computed pursuant to this
subdivision shall not result in more than one unit of average daily
attendance per pupil.

(4) Notwithstanding any other law, average daily attendance
computed for pupils enrolled in courses authorized by this section
shall not be credited with average daily attendance other than as
specified in this section.

(c) This section shall remain in effect only until June 30, 2022,
and as of January 1, 2023 is repealed, unless a later enacted statute
that is enacted before January 1, 2023, deletes or extends that
date.

end insert

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 3. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 51749.6 is added to the end insert begin insert Education Code end insert begin insert , to
read: end insert

begin insert

begin insert 51749.6. end insert   

(a) Before enrolling a pupil in a course authorized
by Section 51749.5, each school district or county office of
education shall provide the pupil and, if the pupil is less than 18
years of age, the pupil’s parent or legal guardian, with a written
learning agreement that includes all of the following:

(1) A summary of the policies and procedures adopted by the
governing board of the school district or county office of education
pursuant to Section 51749.5.

(2) The duration of the enrolled course or courses, the duration
of the learning agreement, and the number of course credits for
each enrolled course consistent with the certifications adopted by
the governing board of the school district or county office of
education pursuant to Section 51749.5. The duration of a learning
agreement shall not exceed a school year or span multiple school
years.

(3) The learning objectives and expectations for each course,
including, but not limited to, a description of how satisfactory
educational progress is measured and when a pupil evaluation is
required to determine whether the pupil should remain in the
course or return to a regular school program.

(4) The specific resources, including materials and personnel,
that will be made available to the pupil.

(5) A statement that the pupil is not required to enroll in courses
authorized pursuant to Section 51749.5.

(b) (1) The learning agreement shall be signed by the pupil
and, if the pupil is less than 18 years of age, the pupil’s parent or
legal guardian, and all certificated employees providing instruction
before instruction may commence.

(2) The signed learning agreement constitutes permission from
a pupil’s parent or legal guardian, if the student is less than 18
years of age, for the pupil to receive instruction through
independent study.

(3) A physical or electronic copy of the signed learning
agreement shall be retained by the school district or county office
of education for at least three years.

(4) For purposes of this section, an electronic copy includes a
computer or electronic stored image of an original document,
including, but not limited to, portable document format, JPEG, or
other digital image file type, that may be sent via fax machine,
e-mail, or other electronic means.

(c) This section shall remain in effect only until June 30, 2022,
and as of January 1, 2023 is repealed, unless a later enacted statute
that is enacted before January 1, 2023, deletes or extends that
date.

end insert

begin delete

SECTION 1.  

Section 46308 is added to the Education Code,
to read:

46308.  

(a) Subject to subdivision (k) and commencing with
the 2015-16 fiscal year, a school district, county office of
education, or charter school providing classroom-based instruction,
as defined in paragraph (1) of subdivision (e) of Section 47612.5,
may claim, for up to 10 percent of the total average daily attendance
of pupils enrolled in grades 9 to 12, inclusive, in the school district,
county office of education, or charter school, state 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 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 in a
participating school district, county office of education, or charter
school.

(2) The pupil is a California resident.

(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.

(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.

(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 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 provide 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. A teacher teaching
an online course shall employ all of the following:

(A) Periodic proctored examinations.

(B) Direct teacher-pupil meetings, in person, no less than twice
per calendar month.

(C) A visual connection, including, but not limited to, an Internet
Web camera.

(5) Specific minimum standards for teacher-pupil contact shall
be determined through a collective bargaining agreement.

(6) (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 computation of the ratios in subparagraphs (A) and (B)
shall be performed annually by the reporting agency at the time
of, and in connection with, the second principal apportionment
report to the Superintendent.

(7) 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.

(8) The teacher of the online course holds the appropriate subject
matter credential, 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.), and is employed in the state of
California.

(9) (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.

(10) 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.

(11) 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.

(12) 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.

(13) No pupil is charged for his or her participation in the online
course.

(14) 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) Compliance with this section 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) To receive state apportionments, a school district, county
office of education, or charter school providing classroom-based
instruction, as defined in paragraph (1) of subdivision (e) of Section
47612.5, 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.

(h) (1) A participating school district, county office of
education, or charter school providing classroom-based instruction,
as defined in paragraph (1) of subdivision (e) of Section 47612.5,
shall receive state apportionments, for up to 10 percent of the total
average daily attendance for pupils enrolled in grades 9 to 12,
inclusive, in the school district, county office of education, or
charter school, for pupils enrolled in a high-quality online course
or courses, as defined in subdivision (b), based on the number of
pupils enrolled in an online course or courses in the 2014-15 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 providing classroom-based instruction, as defined
in paragraph (1) of subdivision (e) of Section 47612.5, that did not
offer an online course or courses in the 2014-15 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, of the school district, county office of education, or
charter school, 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.

(i) 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.

(j) No provision of this section shall be waived unless the waiver
is specifically authorized in statute.

(k) The Superintendent, on or before January 1, 2015, shall
adopt rules and regulations implementing this section.

(l) This section shall become inoperative on June 30, 2019, and,
as of January 1, 2020, is repealed, unless a later enacted statute,
that becomes operative on or before January 1, 2020, deletes or
extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed.

end delete begin delete

SEC. 2.  

Section 46309 is added to the Education Code, to read:

46309.  

(a) Subject to subdivision (g), a school district, county
office of education, or charter school providing classroom-based
instruction, as defined in paragraph (1) of subdivision (e) of Section
47612.5, that operates an online educational learning program is
eligible to receive state apportionments for up to 10 percent of the
total average daily attendance of pupils enrolled in grades 9 to 12,
inclusive, of the school district, county office of education, or
charter school, pursuant to Section 46308, for three consecutive
years. A school district, county office of education, or charter
school providing classroom-based instruction, as defined in
paragraph (1) of subdivision (e) of Section 47612.5, 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 (h) 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 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.

(c) 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.

(d) 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.

(e) 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 (h)
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.

(f) Compliance with this section shall be subject to the audit
conducted pursuant to Section 41020.

(g) The Superintendent, on or before January 1, 2015, shall
adopt rules and regulations implementing this section.

(h) This section shall become inoperative on June 30, 2019,
and, as of January 1, 2020, is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that becomes operative on or before January 1, 2020,
deletes or extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and
is repealed.

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