Illinois
Bill: HB 3307
Status: 02/26/2013 – House Referred to Rules Committee
Relevant Elements: 1, 2, 5, 6
Sponsored by Rep. Joe Sosnowski, R-Rockford, was introduced on February 26 and referred to the Rules Committee. This bill would create the K-12 state virtual school and begin offering courses in the summer 2014 term. It would:
- Offer to all students in the state K-12 rigorous online courses aligned to state and national standards taught by highly qualified online instructors.
- Provide online professional development opportunities for teachers and educators to assist in meeting recertification requirements.
- Receive funding through an annual state appropriation to meet the operation and capital needs as well as fees may be charged to homeschooled families and schools on a per enrollment basis to cover costs.
- Require the virtual school, in order to be eligible for state appropriations, to submit to the state Board of Education before October 1 its budget proposal and to be audited on an annual basis by the Office of the Auditor General.
- Authorize the state virtual school to offer online courses to all students in K-12.
- Require the curriculum to be aligned to state or national learning standards and have the courses delivered by certified teachers.
- Prohibit a local school from denying student participation in the virtual school if the course is an appropriate part of the student’s course of instruction and the school is unable to provide the course by a certified instructor.
- Require the local school to provide supervision to students while they are assigned to work on their virtual school courses.
- Establish within the Illinois Virtual School policies and practices that are explicitly intended to serve those students not currently receiving access to such offerings.
- Empower the virtual school to purchase or lease real and personal property on commercially reasonable terms.
Minnesota
Bill: SF 897
Status: 02/28/2013 – Referred to Education
Relevant Elements: 2, 3, 6, 10
Sponsored by Sen. Jim Carlson, DFL-Eagan, was introduced on February 28 and referred to the Senate Education Committee. SF 897 would require the Digital and Online Learning Advisory Council to consider and provide input to the Department of Education and the legislature on digital learning matters including:
- Methods to maximize the effectiveness of technology and related instructional strategies in teaching and learning to improve student outcomes and identify methods for measuring the impact of using various forms of digital learning in and out of the classroom.
- Toolkits to help parents, students, and schools make good decisions in the environment of choice.
- Use of technology for schools to personalize or differentiate learning to the needs, learning styles and abilities of each student.
- Methods to prepare current and future educators, staff, and education leaders to provide professional development and collaboration around best practices to use and to evaluate the effectiveness of digital tools and instructional strategies to personalize or differentiate education and focus on competency-based learning and advancement, so that all teachers have a digital presence and use high-quality digital curriculum.
- Support collaborative efforts to leverage resources among districts or at regional levels to provide digital resources, content and curriculum.
- The barriers to improving the use of technology in the classroom and methods to ensure that each student has access to a digital device and high-speed Internet at school and at home.
- Address current disparities in digital education across the state.
Companion bill HF 1220, sponsored by Rep. Ryan Winkler, DFL-Golden Valley, was introduced, read a first time and referred to the House Education Policy Committee on March 4.
New Jersey
Relevant Elements: 1, 7, 10
Republican Gov. Chris Christie submitted his budget recommendations for the 2013-2014 fiscal year on February 26. Specific proposals include:
- Distributing $9 billion to state aid in schools, $97.3 million more than the previous fiscal year.
- In total, spending $12.4 billion, or $670.6 million more than in fiscal year 2013.
- $49.1 million to school districts accepted into the public school choice program.
- Increase charter school aid by $3 million.
- Creating the opportunity scholarship pilot program and funding it at $2 million to allow students in chronically failing schools to attend out of district public schools or private schools.
- $5 million for innovation in education for schools to implement reforms and innovating instructional models to address issues, including with the use of teaching technology and online resources.
- Providing an additional $33.9 million for higher education for a total of $2.1 billion.
- Increasing funding for tuition aid grants by $17 million to $353 million.
North Carolina
Bill: HB 23
Status: 03/07/2013 – Senate Passed 3rd Reading
Passed the Senate on March 7. The bill would require the Board of Education to evaluate and develop enhanced requirements for continuing teacher licensure that reflect more rigorous standards. It would 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.
Bill: HB 44
Status: 03/07/2013 – Passed 3rd Reading; Senate Ordered Enrolled
Passed the Senate on March 7 and was enrolled on the same day. It would state 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.
Bill: HB 97
Status: 03/04/2013 – Senate Ref To Com On Rules and Operations of the Senate
Passed the House 109-3 on February 28 and is now in the Senate Rules and Operations Committee. It would allow some lottery funds to be used for digital learning. Effective July 1, 2012 through June 20, 2016, it would permit a county, at the request of a local school administrative unit, to use the money in the lottery fund for digital learning needs like digital textbooks, digital devices, instructional resources or school connectivity. If a county uses the funds for digital learning needs it would be required to use a part of the funds for ongoing professional development for teachers. Starting July 1, 2016, the money would only be used for digital learning needs if the state Board of Education determines that the local school administrative unit has shown growth and continued improvement in outcomes of students.
Similar bill SB 119 was introduced in the Senate on February 20 and was referred to the Senate Education/Higher Education Committee on February 21.
Oklahoma
Bill: SB 559
Status: 03/06/2013 – Measure passed: Ayes: 31 Nays: 11; Emergency failed: Ayes: 31 Nays: 11; Referred for engrossment
Passed the Senate 31-11 on March 6 and is pending House committee referral. It would allow students who score 10 percent above the cut scores that have been approved by the state for ACT, SAT, ACT Plan or PSAT along with other alternative tests, to demonstrate mastery of content and be exempt from taking end-of-course tests in the relevant content areas as the student would have satisfactorily proved mastery of the state academic content standards. Students who score cut scores approved by the Board of Education for AP, Workkeys, CLEP, or IB alternate tests would also be deemed to have satisfactorily demonstrated mastery of state academic content standards and would be exempt from end-of-course tests in relevant subject areas.
Similar bill HB 1035, sponsored by House Common Education Vice Chair Dennis Casey, R-Morrison, passed Chair Casey’s committee on February 27 with amendments making the bill similar to SB 559. In addition to the above provisions HB 1035 would also allow students meeting specified cut scores to graduate from high school with a standard diploma as well as being exempt from end-of-course exams.
Bill: HB 1660
Status: 03/06/2013 – Third Reading, Measure failed: Ayes: 49 Nays: 45; Notice served to reconsider vote by Representative Denney
Sponsored by Assistant Majority Floor Leader Lee Denny, R-Cushing, passed the House Appropriations and Budget Committee on February 25, but failed a House third reading 49-45 on March 6. It would amend funding provisions for online education and prohibit school districts from offering full-time virtual education to students who are not residents of the school district.
Pennsylvania
Bill: HB 759
Status: 02/25/2013 – PN 0871 Referred to EDUCATION
Relevant Elements: 5, 7, 9
Sponsored by Rep. Mike Reese, R-Mount Pleasant, was introduced and referred to the House Education Committee on February 25. It would:
- Reform the funding formula for cyber charter schools by allowing school districts to deduct additional categories of costs from the amount school districts pay to cyber schools, including pupil services and extracurricular activities.
- Provide for direct payment of charter school entities by the Department of Education.
- Lengthen the initial charter terms to five years and renewal terms to 10 years. Under current law initial charters are no less than three years and no more than five years and renewal terms are five years.
Tennessee
Bill: SB 157
Status: 03/06/2013 – Rec. for pass. w/ am., ref. to S. Cal. Comm. Ayes 9, Nays 0 PNV 0
Relevant Elements: 2, 8
Republican Gov. Bill Haslam’s proposal to impose enrollment limits on state virtual schools, passed the Senate Education Committee on March 6 and is scheduled for full consideration by the Senate on March 11. The bill as introduced would have capped online school enrollment at 1,500 and then allowed a school to enroll as many as 5,000 students if academic standards are met. The bill as amended would allow schools to start with an initial enrollment cap of 1,500 and expand as long as the school has met student achievement growth scores of “at expectations,” as determined by the school’s Tennessee Value Added Assessment data. The bill would also authorize the Commissioner of Education to reinstitute the enrollment caps or direct the local education agency to close any virtual public school that has TVAAS data indicating a level of “significantly below expectations” for two consecutive years. If enrollment caps were reinstituted, the caps would not impact students enrolled at the school at the time of the Commissioner’s action.
Utah
Bill: HB 393
Status: 03/08/2013 – Senate/ 1st reading (Introduced)
Relevant Elements: 4, 9
Sponsored by Majority Whip Rep. Gregory H. Hughes, R-Draper, was introduced on March 4 and referred to the House Education Committee, where it was reported favorably on March 5. On March 7 the bill was read a third time and a floor amendment by Representative Hughes was considered and passed.
As amended, this bill would require, prior to the 2014 General Session, that the Board of Education make recommendations on a possible funding formula for competency-based education that would include the distribution of funds based on a student’s successful completion of a course through demonstrated competency and subject mastery, not dependent on the amount of time the student is instructed or the student’s age. HB 393 would allow a charter school or school district to establish assessments and a competency-based education program that would give a student credit if they were able to demonstrate competency in the subject and subject mastery.
Vermont
Bill: SB 130
Status: 02/26/2013 – Senate: Referred to Committee on Appropriations per Senate Rule 31
Sponsored by the Senate Education Committee, was recently introduced and referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee on February 26. The bill would expand existing secondary school programs, including dual enrollment and early college, into a flexible pathways initiative. Specifically the bill would:
- Create the high school completion program for students who are not enrolled in school to allow them to create a personalized learning plan and high school diploma.
- Create the dual enrollment program to be a potential component of a student’s flexible pathway. The program would include online courses and courses offered at a postsecondary institution and courses offered by a postsecondary institution on the campus of a secondary school.
- Allow students to enroll in up to two dual enrollment courses free of tuition prior to completion of high school.
- Establish an adult diploma program and GED program.
- Require the state to pay tuition for students enrolled in an early college program.
- Convene a working group to develop and support implementation of the personalized learning plans.
- Require each student in grade 7-12 to develop a personalized learning plan by 2014 and each student in K-6 by 2012. Students may participate in the dual enrollment program if their PLPs permit this.
Washington
Bill: HB 1252
Status: 03/06/2013 – Rules Committee relieved of further consideration. Placed on second reading
Passed the House Appropriations Committee on March 1 as a substitute and the bill is pending a second reading. It would establish the state K-12 online professional development project to make online professional development modules for K-12 teachers and principals available on demand and at no cost to any educator who chooses to use them. It would also require the superintendent of public instruction to develop a request for proposals and select through a competitive process an applicant to serve as the contracted facilitator and administrator for the project. The joint legislative audit and review committee would be required to conduct an analysis of K-12 professional development for teachers and principals. The professional development modules would be required to incorporate a variety of media including hybrid learning modules that combine online with face-to-face collaboration, and provide for data collection on usage and customer feedback. The modules would cover a range of topics including academic content aligned with the Common Core State Standards, closing the educational opportunity gap, and topics of particular interest to principals. Latest amendments would void the provisions of the bill if specific funding were not provided by June 30, 2013.
Bill Updates:
- Arizona SB 1293 passed the Senate 16-12 on March 6 and is pending committee referral in the House.
- Idaho SB 1091 passed the Senate 34-0 on March 4 with amendments and is now in the House Education Committee.
- Idaho Republican Gov. Butch Otter signed SB 1028/Session Law Chapter 35 on March 5.
- Washington HB 1423 passed the House 95-2 on March 4 and is scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee on March 15.