Amended in Assembly July 1, 2014

Amended in Assembly June 10, 2014

Amended in Senate April 30, 2014

Senate Bill No. 1143

Introduced by Senator Liu

February 20, 2014

An act to amend Sections begin delete 51745.6, 51747, and 51747.5 of, and to add Sections end delete 51749.5 and 51749.6 begin delete to, end delete begin insert of end insert the Education Code, relating to pupil instruction.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 1143, as amended, Liu. Pupil instruction: independent study.

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Existing law, notwithstanding any other law, and commencing with the 2015-16 school year, authorizes a school district, charter school, or county office of education to provide independent study courses for pupils enrolled in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, in accordance with prescribed conditions. Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to conduct an evaluation, as provided, of independent study courses offered pursuant to these provisions and to report the findings to the Legislature and the Director of Finance no later than September 1, 2019.

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This bill would delay the report date to no later than September 15, 2019. The bill also would make nonsubstantive changes.

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(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. Existing law requires a written agreement, not to exceed one semester or 1⁄2 year for a school on a year-round calendar, to be signed by prescribed individuals, for each independent study pupil to be maintained on file.

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This bill would instead require that the signed written agreement not exceed one school year, and would allow the signed written agreement to be maintained on file electronically. The bill would, notwithstanding any other law, and commencing with the 2015-16 school year, authorize a school district, county office of education, or charter school to offer independent study courses to pupils enrolled in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, 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 courses are annually certified, by school district, charter school, or county office of education governing board or body resolution, to be of the same rigor and educational quality as equivalent classroom-based courses, and that certificated employees and each pupil shall communicate in-person, by telephone, or by any other live visual or audio connection no less than twice per calendar month to assess whether each pupil is making satisfactory educational progress. The bill would also require that a signed learning agreement, as specified, be completed and on file. The bill would prohibit pupils from being required to enroll in the independent study courses.

end delete begin delete

(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. Existing law authorizes school districts and county offices of education to claim apportionment credit for independent study only to the extent of the time value of pupil work product, as personally judged in each instance by a certificated teacher.

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This bill would specify the computation of average daily attendance for the independent study courses described above. The bill would prohibit school districts, charter schools, and county offices of education from having to sign and date pupil work products when assessing their time value of pupil work products for apportionment purposes. The bill would also revise the pupil-to-teacher ratios by grade span, as specified.

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

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

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begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 51749.5 of the end insert begin insert Education Code end insert begin insert is amended
to read: end insert

51749.5.  

(a) Notwithstanding any other law, and commencing
with the 2015-16 school year, a school district, charter school, or
county office of education may, for pupils enrolled in kindergarten
and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, provide independent study courses
pursuant to the following conditions:

(1) The governing board or body of a participating school
district, charter school, 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, or subdivision (l)
of Section 47605, 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, charter school, or county office of education at which the
pupil is enrolled, or by a school district, charter school, or county
office of education that has a memorandum of understanding to
provide the instruction in coordination with the school district,
charter school, or county office of education at which the pupil is
enrolled.

(4) (A) Courses are annually certified, by school district, charter
school, or county office of education governing board or body
resolution, to be of the same rigor and educational quality as
equivalent classroom-based courses, and shall be aligned to 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 schoolday
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, 46300.4, 47612, and 47612.1.

(6) Pupils enrolled in courses authorized by this section shall
meet the applicable residency and enrollment requirements
established pursuant to Sections 46300.2, 47612, 48204, and
51747.3.

(7) (A) Certificated employees and each pupil shall communicate
in-person, by telephone, or by any other live visual or audio
connection no less than twice per calendar month to 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 proctor shall administer examinations.

(9) (A) Statewide testing results for pupils enrolled in any course
authorized pursuant to this section shall be reported and assigned
to the school or charter school at which the pupil is enrolled, and
to any school district, charter school, or county office of education
within which that school’s or charter school’s testing results are
aggregated.

(B) Statewide testing results for pupils enrolled in a course or
courses pursuant to this section shall be disaggregated for purposes
of comparing the testing results of those pupils to 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
minimum instructional day requirements applicable to the local
educational agency. 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, and Section 47612.5.

(13) Courses required for high school graduation or for
admission to the University of California or California State
University shall not be offered exclusively through independent
study.

(14) A pupil participating in independent study shall not be
assessed a fee prohibited by Section 49011.

(15) A pupil shall not be prohibited from participating in
independent study solely on the basis that he or she does not have
the materials, equipment, or Internet access that are necessary to
participate in the independent study course.

(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 schoolday, 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 schoolday, 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 schoolday, add the sum of subparagraphs (A) and
(B).

(2) If subparagraph (C) of paragraph (1) meets applicable
minimum schoolday requirements for each schoolday, and all other
requirements in this section have been met, credit each schoolday
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 schoolday attendance pursuant to
paragraph (2), calculate average daily attendance pursuant to
Section 41601 or 47612, whichever is applicable, 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 what
is specified in this section.

(c) For purposes of this section, “equivalent total instructional
minutes” means the same number of minutes as required for an
equivalent classroom-based course.

(d) (1) The Superintendent shall conduct an evaluation of
independent study courses offered pursuant to this section and
report begin insert the end insert findings to the Legislature and the Director of Finance
no later than September begin delete 1, end delete begin insert 15, end insert 2019. The report shall, at a
minimum, compare the academic performance of pupils in
independent study with demographically similar pupils enrolled
in equivalent classroom-based courses.

(2) The requirement for submitting a report imposed under
paragraph (1) is inoperative on September begin delete 1, end delete begin insert 15, end insert 2023, pursuant
to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code.

(3) A report to be submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be
submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government
Code.

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begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 51749.6 of the end insert begin insert Education Code end insert begin insert is amended to
read: end insert

51749.6.  

(a) Before enrolling a pupil in a course authorized
by Section 51749.5, each school district, charter school, 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 or body of the school district, charter school, or
county office of education pursuant to Section begin delete 51749.5, as
applicable. end delete begin insert 51749.5. end insert

(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 or body of the school district, charter school,
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 be referred to an alternative program, which may include, but
is not limited 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 pupil 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, county office
of education, or charter school for at least three years and as
appropriate for auditing purposes.

(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,
email, or other electronic means.

All matter omitted in this version of the bill appears in the bill as amended in the Assembly, June 10, 2014. (JR11)