Colorado
Bill: SB 139
Status: 03/19/2013 – Senate Third Reading Passed; Introduced In House – Assigned to Education
Relevant Elements: 1, 8
SB 139 passed the Senate on March 19 and is now in the House Education Committee. It would add requirements to ensure every high school student has the opportunity to take at least one supplemental online course per year and that schools report which students are participating in such courses so the performance of students can be tracked. It would also create the division of online learning to prepare a summary of data related to students in supplemental online courses offered by a nonprofit provider.
Florida
Bill: HB 7091, SB 1076
Status: 03/19/2013 – House CS by Education Appropriations Subcommittee; YEAS 12 NAYS 0
Relevant Elements: 5, 7, 9
Florida HB 7091, sponsored by House Education Committee Vice Chair Elizabeth Porter, R-Lake City, passed the House Education Appropriations Subcommittee on March 19 as a substitute. As substituted it would:
- Amend bonus pay to teachers for AP courses to require that in order to receive the bonus at least 50 percent of the students in the course would have to score three or higher in A, B, or C schools and 25 percent in D and F schools. The bill would establish a bonus limit of $3,000 per year and would add an additional $50 bonus for each student who has a qualifying score in the above classes.
- Bonus funding to schools and teachers for students issued industry certification that articulate for college credit.
- Development of a Florida Cyber Security Recognition and a Florida Digital Arts Recognition for elementary school students with bonus funding for schools when students earn the recognitions.
- Create three new standard high school diploma designations: the college and career, industry, and scholar designations beginning with students entering grade 9 in 2013.
- Increase the emphasis on digital literacy by requiring school district progression plans to address the use of digital competency tools.
- Eliminate optional digital curricula and instead require districts to provide digital materials to all students in pre-K-12, including those with disabilities. Digital materials may be integrated into subject area curricula or provided as a separate course.
- Establish three new digital literacy programs including the state cyber security recognition program, the state digital arts recognition, and the state digital tools certificate program.
- Revise the definition of the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards to include the Common Core State Standards in Math and English.
Similar bill SB 1076 passed the Senate Education Committee on March 6 and the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Education 11-0 on March 13 with amendments and is now pending in the full Appropriations Committee.
Hawaii
Bill: SB 238
Status: 03/19/2013 – H Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on FIN with Representative(s) Aquino, Carroll, Choy, Cullen, Fale, Hanohano, Har, Ito, Kawakami, McDermott, McKelvey, Morikawa, Thielen, Tokioka, Tsuji, Ward, Woodson, Yamane voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and none excused (0)
Relevant Elements: 4, 9
Hawaii SB 238 passed the House Education Committee on March 13 and passed a second reading on March 19 and is now in Finance. It would amend the definition of student instructional hours in elementary schools to include project-based learning assignments, technology-assisted learning, and all other activities in which there is a related general learner outcome attached to such time. For secondary schools it would also amend the definition to include technology-assisted learning as well as performance assessments, and all other activities in which there is a related general learner outcome attached to such time. Latest amendments make technical changes and clarify that existing student instructional hour requirements are minimum requirements. House Education Committee amendments would narrow the definition of student instructional hours for secondary schools by removing unspecified activities to which a general learner outcome can be attached.
Idaho
Bill: SB 1091
Status: 03/20/2013 – Reported signed by the Speaker & ordered delivered to Governor
Relevant Elements: 4, 7
Idaho SB 1091 was delivered to Republican Gov. Butch Otter on March 20 who will have until March 25 to act on the measure. It would create an online course portal and would appropriate $150,000 for the maintenance and development of the portal. The portal would contain available online, nonsectarian K-12 or dual credit courses available from the state digital learning academy, public school districts, charter schools, and colleges and universities. The portal would include and display ratings from students and parents that would evaluate the content, instruction and ease of use of courses. The bill would also establish that students completing all state high school graduation requirements prior to the beginning of their final grade 12 semester would be eligible for dual credit courses and AP exams, paid for by the state. Latest amendments would allow courses offered by any provider of online courses to be included in the online portal, provided they have been verified and approved by the Department of Education to meet state content standards.
Illinois
Bill: HB 494
Status: 03/19/2013 – House House Floor Amendment No. 1 Referred to Rules Committee
Relevant Elements: 7
Illinois HB 494, sponsored by House Elementary and Secondary Education Chairperson Rep. Linda Chapa LaVia, D-Aurora, which was introduced as a shell bill without any substantive provisions, unanimously passed the House Executive Committee on March 6 and is pending second reading in the House. On March 19 Representative La Via filed House Floor Amendment One and it was referred to the House Rules Committee. The bill would impose a moratorium on the creation of charter schools with virtual-schooling components from April 1, 2013 through April 1, 2016. Virtual-schooling would be defined as teaching courses online with online teachers and would include instruction given by full-time, online virtual schools or virtual-blended schools. This moratorium would not apply to charter schools with a virtual- schooling component approved or existing prior to April 1, 2013.
Maine
Bill: LD 1130
Status: 03/21/2013 – (H) Bill REFERRED to the Committee on EDUCATION AND CULTURAL AFFAIRS . In concurrence. ORDERED SENT FORTHWITH
Relevant Elements: 2, 7
Maine LD 1130, sponsored by Sen. Emily Cain, D-Orono, was introduced on March 21 in the Senate and has been referred to the Joint Education and Cultural Affairs Committee. This bill has not been fully drafted and was presented to the legislature as a concept with only an enacting clause and summary. It would propose to establish a state-managed virtual school that would:
- Allow the state to have direct oversight over as well as apply precise quality controls to the management of the school.
- Utilize existing in-state talent and when possible use content prepared and shared by teachers within the state.
- Be designed in a cost-effect way in order to best deliver services to students and schools.
- Maximize the delivery of course content and material to rural schools.
Bill: LD 1057
Status: 03/20/2013 – (S) On motion by Senator Millett of Cumberland, REFERRED to the Committee on EDUCATION AND CULTURAL AFFAIRS , in concurrence.
Relevant Elements: 9
Maine LD 1057, sponsored by Rep. Karen Kusiak, D-Fairfield, was introduced on March 15. It would amend a variety of funding requirements for public charter schools and would:
- Prohibit virtual public charter schools form receiving state or local funding except as allocated through the General Purpose Aid for Local Schools which would have to be provided by the sending school administrative unit to the virtual public charter school for a student who experienced education disruption and who would be enrolled in a virtual public charter school.
Missouri
Bill: HB 470, SB 276
Status: 03/13/2013 – HCS Voted Do Pass (H); Referred: Rules(H)
Relevant Elements: 2, 7
Missouri HB 470 passed the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee on March 13. It would allow students to enroll in a school district other than their school district of residence or a charter school for the purpose of attending virtual courses or programs. School districts or charter schools would be required to give a preference to a sibling of students who are already enrolled. The bill would also provide that any institution of higher education with its primary campus located in Missouri with an approved teacher education program would be permitted to sponsor virtual charter schools.
Similar bill SB 276, sponsored by Sen. Ed Emery, R-Lamar, was read a first time in the Senate on February 6.
Bill Updates:
- Florida SB 1076 passed the Senate Education Committee on March 6 and the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Education 11-0 on March 13 with amendments and is now pending in the full Appropriations Committee.
- Maryland HB 532 passed the House 139-0 on March 19. Cross-filed bill SB 537 was reported unfavorably from the Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee on March 18.
- Minnesota HF 1337 passed the House Education Finance Committee on March 18. It also would provide an appropriation for college and career assessments, computer-adapted tests, and the career task force.
- Minnesota SF 897 passed the Senate Education Committee on March 14 and is now in Finance. Companion bill HF 1220 passed the House Education Policy Committee on March on March 13.
- North Carolina Republican Gov. Patrick McCrory signed HB 23/Session Law 2013-11 on March 15. The majority of the bill takes effect in 2017 and will require the Board of Education to evaluate and develop enhanced requirements for continuing teacher licensure that reflect more rigorous standards. It will also require the board to integrate digital teaching and learning into the requirements for license renewal. It would mandate that teacher and administrator education programs require that all students demonstrate competencies in using digital and other instructional technologies to provide high-quality, integrated digital teaching and learning to all students. The Board is required to develop digital teaching and learning competencies, a provision that takes effect immediately.
- North Carolina Governor McCrory signed HB 44/Session Law 2013-12 on March 19. It takes effect immediately and states the intent of the general assembly to transition from funding for textbooks, both traditional and digital, to funding digital materials, including textbooks and instructional resources, to provide educational resources that remain current, aligned with curriculum, and effective for all learners by 2017.
- Tennessee SB 157, Republican Gov. Bill Haslam’s proposal to impose enrollment limits on state virtual schools, passed the Senate on March 14. Companion bill HB 151 passed the House Education Committee on February 19 and is pending in the Government Operations Committee
- Utah HB 393 was ordered enrolled on March 14 and is pending delivery to Republican Gov. Gary Herbert