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ARIZONA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVESFifty-fifth Legislature First Regular Session |
House: ED DPA/SE 6-3-1-0 |
HB 2421: schools; distance learning courses; funding
S/E: same topic
Sponsor: Representative Carroll, LD 22
Caucus & COW
Summary of the Strike-Everything Amendment to HB 2421
Overview
Allows a school district or charter school (school) to offer supplemental distance learning courses (SDLCs) to any Arizona student. Outlines application requirements, course approval prioritization and average daily membership (ADM) and funding calculations.
History
ADM is defined to mean the total enrollment of part-time and full-time students, minus withdrawals, for the first 100 or 200 days of the school year. Statute outlines the number of instructional hours a student must be enrolled in a program or a course to generate an ADM. Furthermore, statute outlines daily attendance requirements that detail the minimum instructional time a student must attend to be considered in attendance. Daily attendance is specified by grade level and program (A.R.S. 15-901).
A student who is concurrently enrolled in a school district or charter school and Arizona online instruction (AOI) may not generate an ADM greater than 1.0. If the ADM generated is greater than 1.0, it is reduced to 1.0 and is then apportioned between the school and AOI based on the percentage of total time that the student is enrolled or in attendance in the school or AOI (A.R.S. 15-808).
The State Board of Education (SBE) is required to select district public schools and state-approved charter authorizers to sponsor charter schools to be online course providers or online schools. Statute outlines approval criteria for these providers. A full-time student enrolled in an AOI is funded at 95% of the level if that student were enrolled in-person in a public school; part-time AOI students are funded at 85% of that level (A.R.S. 15-808).
Provisions
SDLCs
1. Allows, beginning the 2022-2023 school year, any school, including an online school, to offer SDLCs to any Arizona student in the 6th-12th grades. (Sec. 3)
2. Defines SDLC as a course that:
a) Is provided by a school in an online or other format;
b) Is provided to a student who has maximized their ADM but who takes additional SDLCs; and
c) Is either:
i. A retake of a course that a student has completed or partially completed; or
ii. An intersession course offered either beginning April 30 until a student's enrolled start date or over winter break. (Sec. 3)
3. Authorizes a school to offer a SDLC to any Arizona student, including students not enrolled in the school. (Sec. 3)
4. Provides that any full-time Arizona school student in the 6th-12th grades or who has already generated 1.0 ADM may enroll in up to two SDLCs per school year. (Sec. 3)
5. Enables a SDLC to be offered online or via other formats. (Sec. 3)
6. Allows schools to offer SDLCs from other providers that are already approved. (Sec. 3)
7. Requires the school in which a student is enrolled to accept the credit a student receives for a SDLC and to classify the course as indicated in the online catalog. (Sec. 3)
SBE and Application Procedures
8. Mandates SBE establish application policies and procedures for SDLCs. (Sec. 3)
9. Allows a school to apply to SBE to offer a SDLC and requires the following be included in the school's application:
a) Proof of excellence in the course subject;
b) The proposed course format;
c) The proposed enrollment capacity;
d) The plan for proctoring any tests in the course;
e) Any equipment or technology required for student participation; and
f) A plan for student support. (Sec. 3)
10. Details the SDLCs for which SBE may prioritize approval. (Sec. 3)
11. Requires SBE to review any SDLC in which students perform below the statewide average on the statewide assessment or that receives consistent complaints. (Sec. 3)
12. Permits SBE to review any SDLC that has not been reviewed for more than five years or is offered by a low performance school as indicated by the school's letter grade or other data. (Sec. 3)
13. Requires SBE to consult with schools, organizations and entities on how to assess online course quality when developing review practices and policies. (Sec. 3)
Catalog
14. Instructs ADE to establish an online catalog by July 1, 2022 and requires the catalog to be updated by July 1 annually. (Sec. 3)
15. Stipulates SBE must approve the catalog. (Sec. 3)
16. Directs ADE to indicate each SDLC's classification and allows ADE to include a parent and student review section for each SDLC in the catalog. (Sec. 3)
17. Requires each school to post a link to the catalog on its website. (Sec. 3)
18. Outlines the information and data ADE must include in the catalog. (Sec. 3)
19. Specifies the initial catalog must include any course provided via online instruction. (Sec. 3)
20. Authorizes SBE to:
a) Develop a review system for courses in the catalog based on performance data and student and parental feedback; and
b) Remove low quality courses from the catalog. (Sec. 3)
Funding and ADM
21. Provides that each completed SDLC generates the lesser of:
a) An ADM amount equal to 1.0 divided by the total number of courses, including SDLCs, that the student is taking that school year; or
b) 1/6 ADM. (Sec. 4)
22. Transfers the ADM generated by a student participating in a SDLC to the school in which the student is taking the SDLC. (Sec. 4)
a) Instructs the primary school in which the student is enrolled to subtract the ADM generated by a SDLC from its ADM calculation. (Sec. 4)
23. Limits the ADM of a student who is primarily enrolled in a school and who is also taking at least one SDLC in another school at 1.0. (Sec. 4)
24. Reduces a student's daily membership or daily attendance to 1.0 if the student is primarily enrolled in a school, is taking at least one SDLC in another school and the student's daily membership or daily attendance is greater than 1.0. (Sec. 4)
a) Exempts this reduction if the school is a career technical education district. (Sec. 4)
25. Requires the Uniform System of Financial Records to include apportionment guidelines for student enrollment and attendance. (Sec. 4)
26. Authorizes a student who takes a SDLC to be funded at 85% of the base support level that would be calculated if the student were enrolled as a part-time student in a school that does not offer a SDLC. (Sec. 4)
27. Stipulates that charter additional assistance and district additional assistance are to be calculated in the same manner if the student were enrolled in a school that does not participate in SDLCs. (Sec. 4)
AOI
28. Adds that SBE and state-approved charter authorizers must include, in the approval standards for online schools, criteria for the alignment with best practice for digital content and remote teaching and learning. (Sec. 2)
29. Requires pupils who participate in AOI and receive state aid to reside in Arizona. (Sec. 2)
30. Mandates SBE and state-approved charter authorizers to request, from each in-state university, data on the performance or persistence of students who receive online instruction before entering the university. (Sec. 2)
a) Requires ADE to include this information in the compiled annual report of schools participating in AOI. (Sec. 2)
Current Online Provider and Course Applicants
31. Allows all schools that, as of December 1, 2020, are in the process of being approved to offer AOI or offer online and remote content to continue offering digital and online content without interruption and states they may:
a) Complete the AOI application process; or
b) Request to have their AOI applications held and reviewed for the SDLC application process. (Sec. 5)
32. Permits schools that, as of December 1, 2020, were offering digital and online content without submitting an AOI application to continue to do so but stipulates they must apply to have those individual courses approved pursuant to the SDLC application process.
a) Excludes D and F letter grade schools with improvement plans from this ability. (Sec. 5)
33. Mandates, beginning the 2021-2022 school year, schools offering online and remote instruction to offer all students an in-person option.
a) Prohibits any authority from waiving the in-person option.
b) Allows the in-person option to be offered by a school or community partner in another building if transportation options are made available. (Sec. 5)
Definitions
34. Alters the definition of online school to mean a school that provides at least 65% of its instructional time online. (Sec. 2)
35. Defines instructional time to mean the total amount of instructional time received by all students who are both online and remote. (Sec. 2)
36. Deletes the definition of online course provider. (Sec. 2)
Miscellaneous
37. Makes technical changes. (Sec. 1, 2)
38. Makes conforming changes. (Sec. 2)
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42. HB 2421
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