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DLN State Report 4.5.2013

Blog Posts05 Apr 2013

Alaska

Bill: HB 190
Status: 04/05/2013 – (H) EDC AT 8:00 AM CAPITOL 106
Relevant Elements: 4, 8
Alaska HB 190, sponsored by Rep. Paul Seaton, R-Homer, was read a first time March 28 and referred to the House Education Committee, where it is scheduled for a hearing on April 3 at 8 am. It would require school districts to provide course credit in secondary schools based on demonstrated mastery of the subject. School districts would be required to establish an assessment tool and a standard for demonstrating mastery in secondary courses provided by the district.

Arizona

Relevant Elements: 5, 10
Currently, not all schools have the capability to meet the technical requirements to administer the test such as Internet speed, which would slow the test taking down drastically. It is most likely that in the first year of implementation, the exam would be done with pencil and paper. The Arizona Department of Education is surveying the technology needs of schools. Governor Brewer proposed, in her budget, $20 million to evaluate technology needs in schools and bring schools up to minimum operating capacity with the PARCC guidelines and aim for a 5 to 1 student-to-device ratio. Budget discussions are ongoing.

Arkansas

Bill: SB 233
Status: 04/01/2013 -Withdrawn from Committee for purpose of amendment # 4; Amendment # 4 read the first time, rules suspended, read the second time and adopted, ordered engrossed; Senate — Re-referred to Joint Budget Committee
Relevant Elements: 1, 2
In Arkansas SB 233, the FY 2014 education appropriations bill, would increase the current cap on student enrollment at the Arkansas Virtual Academy to 5,000 and would also qualify the online school to add grades nine through 12, according to the Arkansas News Bureau. State Education Commissioner Tom Kimbrell said the bill, “completely subverts the entire charter process.” Two years ago the state Department of Education supported legislation that removed the 500-student enrollment cap on the school. The state Department of Finance and Administration estimates the additional cost to the state at as much as $28 million. A proposed amendment would limit the students who enroll at the Virtual Academy to those already enrolled in public school, which would not add any net expense. At issue is the language in the bill, which would not require the school to get approval by the Board of Education to add grades nine through 12 and increase their student body population. In June 2011, the school asked for approval for 1,500 more students and was denied by the Board of Education. Another amendment would remove the Virtual Academy from currently average daily membership funding requirements which would mean the state would no longer have to pay the district $6,267 per student if the student transferred to an open enrollment charter school that uses, “Internet, long distance or virtual technology as the primary method of teaching.”

SB 233, sponsored by the Joint Budget Committee was amended on April 1 on the Senate floor and was referred back to the Joint Budget Committee on the same day.

Bill: SB 66
Status: 04/04/2013 – Senate — Notification that SB66 is now Act 601
Relevant Elements: 7
Arkansas SB 66 was delivered to Democratic Gov. Mike Beebe on April 2 who will have until April 8 to act on the measure. It would establish the districts of innovation program where interested public school districts would develop and submit a plan to the state Board of Education with goals and performance targets in exchange for flexibility from state laws and rules. The innovation plan could include:

  • Reducing the achievement gap of one or more academic student subgroups.
  • Increasing student learning through the implementation of highly rigorous standards.
  • Increasing the number of college and career ready students.
  • Offering more curriculum choices and learning opportunities to parents and students.

Instructional time would be required to meet or exceed the instructional time requirement adopted by the Board of Education and would include on-site instruction, distance or virtual learning, and work-based learning on nontraditional school days or hours. At least 60 percent of teachers in the district would have to support the innovation designation before an innovation plan is submitted.

California

Bill: SB 505
Status: 04/01/2013 – From committee with author’s amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on ED.
Relevant Elements: 5, 6, 9, 10
California SB 505, sponsored by Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson, D-Santa Barbara, was introduced on February 21 and referred to the Committee on Education on March 11. It was amended and re-referred to the Education Committee on April 1. It would:

  • Provide statewide support services to schools and school districts in the implementation of digital learning resources and technology tools.
  • Provide statewide coordination of support services that benefit teaching and learning with the common core standards and in support of the computer-adaptive assessment system adopted by the state board.
  • Provide funding in the annual Budget Act to the K-12 High-Speed Network to provide centralized statewide educational technology services that address regional and statewide needs and would more efficiently and effectively provide or coordinate on a statewide basis to support the common core standards and computer-adaptive assessments implemented by the state boards.
  • Support statewide educational services and appropriate contracts including for the review of electronic learning resources, professional development with a focus on digital school leadership, access for schools to training and statewide coordination of a regional assistance program to provide technical assistance to schools and school districts in the implementation of digital learning resources and tools.

Louisiana

Bill: HB 584
Status: 04/01/2013 – First appeared in the Interim Calendar on 4/1/2013
Relevant Elements: 5, 6, 10
Louisiana HB 584, sponsored by Rep. Patricia Haynes Smith, D-Baton Rouge, was prefiled on March 29 and provisionally referred to the Committee on Education. It would require the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) to provide standards for virtual schools and supplemental online instruction. The rules and regulations covered would include but not be limited to the establishment of quality standards in the following areas: students, teachers and programs. HB 584 would require rules and regulations with relation to students in the following areas:

  • Student academic performance and improvement.
  • Monitoring and assessment of student academic performance and improvement.
  • Course completion measurements.
  • Attendance tracking procedures.
  • Participation guidelines for extracurricular activities.
  • Guidance counseling.
  • Engagement of parents and communities in online programs.
  • Provisions for students with special needs, including gifted and talented students and English language learners
  • Training in how to use the hardware and software associated with the online program.

The bill would require rules and regulations for teachers in the areas of:

  • Required amount of teacher participation in the instructional program for each course.
  • Qualifications of mentor teachers.
  • Required elements of a program in online instruction necessary to become a qualified teacher in a virtual school
  • Required amount of professional development annually required of online instructors in technology-based instructional design.
  • Elements of an alternative certification programs for certified teachers in other states.
  • Required qualifications of noncertified personnel involved in any assessment of student work.

And in the areas of programs:

  • Online program’s governance, vision, and organization.
  • Standards-based curricula and data-driven instructional practices.
  • Technology capacity and support.
  • Approval of public and private contractors with public school districts for supplemental online instruction.
  • Professional development support mechanism.

The bill would require the governing authority of each virtual school to annually submit to BESE a financial audit and a report on certain performance data including student achievement levels and growth, average student daily attendance, graduation rates, teacher evaluation plans, certification status of all instructional staff and other information. It would require that teachers meet specified criteria including holding a valid teaching certificate and holding a content specialization for each subject taught. The teachers would also be subject to evaluation in the same manner as provided for public school teachers and the current termination, collective bargaining, and tenure rules. A virtual school would be required to, along with many other requirements, provide annual professional development to all employees including professional development on the use of virtual education technology.

HB 584 would require BESE to include supplemental online instruction options offered by local education providers in school and district accreditation decisions. It would provide that the approval and oversight of supplemental online instruction would be the responsibility of the city, parish, or other local public school board. It would require local boards to ensure that certain conditions are met including that the curriculum and assessments comply with state content standards, instructional personnel meet the qualification criteria, and exams are administered in a proctored environment. The bill would also require that students take the state-mandated assessments with their traditional peers and that for every credit-bearing course, students be provided multiple, synchronous learning opportunities with their teachers.

Bill: HB 648
Status: 04/01/2013 – First appeared in the Interim Calendar on 4/1/2013
Relevant Elements: 1
Louisiana HB 648, sponsored by Rep. Steve Pylant, R-Winnsboro, was prefiled and provisionally referred to the Committee on Education. It would require the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) to adopt rules and regulations that require all public high school students, beginning with those entering ninth grade in the fall of 2014, to successfully complete at least one course offered by a BESE-authorized online or virtual course provider as a prerequisite to graduation. It would also require BESE to develop and adopt rules and regulations implementing these provisions.

Maine

Bill: LD 1330
Status: 04/03/2013 – (H) Bill REFERRED to the Committee on EDUCATION AND CULTURAL AFFAIRS . In concurrence. ORDERED SENT FORTHWITH.
Relevant Elements: 6
Maine LD 1330, sponsored by Sen. Garrett Mason, R-Lisbon, was referred to the Joint Education and Cultural Affairs Committee on April 3. It would establish an alternative pathway to teacher certification. It would require that programs that prepare persons for alternative certification, be certified by the Commissioner of Education. LD 1330 would require that the programs provide targeted coursework in teaching, mentoring or student teaching experience, classroom preparation and student assessments. Classroom preparation would include technology-based methodologies for teaching subject content that supports applicable state standards for students. Graduates of the alternative certification programs would be eligible to obtain professional teacher certificates. The bill would also require the state Board of Education to establish minimum standards of performance for these programs and, by October 31, 2016, to develop minimum standards of performance for all teacher preparation programs.

Maryland

Bill: SB 461, HB 1176
Status: 04/03/2013 – Returned Passed (Senate)
Relevant Elements: 1
In Maryland SB 461 passed the House on April 2. It would require the development, review, and approval of online courses and services to include an assessment regarding the accessibility of the online course or service to individuals with disabilities, including the blind. It would authorize the state Department of Education to contract with a third party to develop an assessment regarding accessibility and to conduct an assessment of course accessibility that would determine the approval or denial status of the course and provide feedback to the course provider.

Cross-filed bill HB 1176 passed the Senate Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs Committee on April 4.

Missouri

Bill: HB 942
Status: 04/04/2013 – Referred: Elementary and Secondary Education (H)
Relevant Elements: 1, 6, 7
Missouri HB 942, sponsored by Rep. Kathryn Swan, R-Cape Girardeau, was introduced and read a first time in the House on March 28. It would:

  • Allow public high schools, in cooperation with Missouri public community colleges and public or private four-year colleges and universities, to offer postsecondary course options to high school students, including virtual courses.
  • Require the Department of Higher Education and the Elementary and Secondary Education Department to jointly develop a “best practices” policy for post secondary courses delivered virtually beginning in the 2014-15 academic year. The guidelines would need to include expectations for instructor training in on-line course delivery and other specifications.
  • Allow a course used for remediation or credit recovery to be delivered virtually through the state’s virtual instruction program or through a district’s or charter school’s virtual program if both the instructor and the course meet the requirements.
  • Require each charter school or school district that provides a virtual program or course to monitor the submission of written work and the taking of tests used for a course grade sufficiently to provide assurance that the work submitted in the virtual program is actually by the student who is enrolled in the course.

Bill: HB 631
Status: 04/04/2013 – Rules – Reported Do Pass (H)
Relevant Elements: 6
Missouri HB 631, sponsored by Rep. Kevin Elmer, R-Nixa, passed the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee with a substitute on March 27. The bill was then considered by the Rules Committee, which on March 28 voted to return the bill to the Elementary and Secondary Education Committee, which again passed the bill with amendments on April 2. HB 631 would require school districts, including charter schools, to fully implement an evaluation system centered on student achievement in advance of the next school year. These evaluations would have to be performed annually and would be required to include:

  • For teachers who teach courses subject to annual assessments, student achievement and student growth would count for at least 33 percent of the evaluation, which is reduced from the 50 percent in the introduced version.
  • For teachers who do not directly instruct students in subjects with assessments, student growth would count for a percentage determined by the district.
  • Student growth that reflects at least one year’s worth of growth for a school year of instruction or that students otherwise achieved appropriate growth based on expectations derived from at least two years of individual student achievement data.
  • Multiple additional measures, including student surveys and multiple classroom observations.

HB 631 would also base staffing decisions primarily on performance evaluation results.

Montana

Bill: HB 210
Status: 04/02/2013 – (H) Transmitted to Governor
Relevant Elements: 9
Montana HB 210 was delivered to Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock on April 2 and he will have until April 12 to act on the measure. It would appropriate $300,000 solely for the Montana digital academy for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2013. Any remaining funds that are unencumbered would revert to the general fund.

Bill: SB 81
Status: 03/25/2013 – (H) Committee Report–Bill Concurred
Relevant Elements: 9
Montana SB 81 passed the House Taxation Committee on March 25. It would provide a tax credit for contributions to educational improvement organizations and student scholarship organizations for providing innovative educational programs and scholarships, respectively. An educational improvement organization would use contributions to make grants for innovative educational programs including AP, Internet-based or distance learning, before or after hours extension programs, specialized instructional materials, internships, and dual-credit programs.

Tennessee

Bill: HB 239, SB 203
Status: 04/01/2013 – Rcvd. from H., P1C
Relevant Elements: 1, 4
Tennessee HB 239 passed the House on March 28 and is pending committee referral in the Senate. It would define early postsecondary education opportunity to mean a course or program that is designed to provide high school students with rigorous course of study that may lead to the receipt of postsecondary credit. It would also include dual enrollment, dual credit, Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, or courses that prepare students for the CLEP tests. The bill would require that every local education agency make available to all students enrolled in grades 9-12 at least one early postsecondary education opportunity. Such courses or programs would be permitted through virtual learning or other technological means.

Companion bill SB 203 is pending in the Senate Education Committee.

Bill Updates:

  • Arkansas HB 1785 passed the House Education Committee with amendments on April 3. Latest amendments would provide that the bill would not authorize a government entity to provide directly or indirectly basic local exchange, voice, data, broadband, video, or wireless telecommunication service.
  • Colorado SB 139 passed the House on April 2 and is pending enrollment.
  • Hawaii SB 238 passed the House Finance Committee on April 2. 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.
  • Utah HB 393 was signed by Governor Gary Herbert on April 1.