Current through Bulletin 2024-06, March 15, 2024
(1)
(a) A
provider shall administer the applicable statewide assessments to a
participating private or home school student as directed by the Superintendent,
including proctoring the applicable statewide assessments, consistent with
Section 53F-4-510 and Rule
R277-404.
(b) A provider shall pay
administrative and proctoring costs for the applicable statewide assessments
described in Subsection (1)(a).
(c)
A provider shall establish a procedure that a student or parent may complete
online to excuse the student from statewide assessments as described in
Subsection
53G-6-803(9).
(2) A provider shall provide a parent or a
student with email and telephone contacts for the provider during regular
business hours to facilitate parent contact.
(3) A provider and any third party working
with a provider shall, for all eligible students, satisfy Board requirements
for:
(a) consistency with course standards as
described in Sections
53F-4-514 and
53E-6-201;
(b) criminal background checks for provider
employees consistent with Title 53G, Chapter 11, Part 4, Background
Checks;
(c) documentation of
student enrollment and participation; and
(d) compliance with:
(i) the IDEA;
(ii) Section 504; and
(iii) requirements for multilingual
students.
(4) A
provider shall receive payments for a student properly enrolled in the program
from the Superintendent consistent with:
(a)
Board procedures;
(b) Board
timelines; and
(c) Sections
53F-4-505 through
53F-4-508, and Section
53F-4-518.
(5)
(a) A
provider may charge a fee consistent with other secondary schools and in
accordance with Title 53G, Chapter 7, Part 5, Student Fees, and Rule
R277-407.
(b) If a provider intends
to charge a fee of any kind, the provider:
(i)
shall notify the primary school of enrollment with whom the provider has the
CCA of the purpose for fees and amounts of fees;
(ii) shall provide timely notice to a parent
of required fees and fee waiver opportunities;
(iii) shall post fees on the provider
website;
(iv) shall be responsible
for fee waivers for an eligible student, including materials for a student
designated fee waiver eligible by a student's primary school of
enrollment;
(v) shall satisfy the
requirements of Rule R277-407, as applicable; and
(vi) shall provide fee waivers to home school
or private school students who meet fee waiver eligibility at the provider's
expense.
(6) A
provider shall maintain a student's records and comply with the federal Family
Educational Rights and Privacy Act, Title 53E, Chapter 9, Part 3, Student Data
Protection, and Rule R277-487, including:
(a)
protecting the confidentiality of a student's records and providing a parent
and an eligible student access to records; and
(b) providing a parent or student
documentation of educational performance, including:
(i) test scores;
(ii) grades;
(iii) progress and performance measures;
and
(iv) completion of
credit.
(7)
Except as otherwise provided in this rule, a provider shall submit a student's
credit and grade to the Superintendent, using processes and applications
provided by the Superintendent for this purpose, and listing core codes for
each included course, to a designated counselor or registrar at the primary
school of enrollment, and the student's parent no later than the earlier of:
(a) 30 days after a student satisfactorily
completes an online semester or quarter course; or
(b) June 30 of the school year.
(8) A provider may not withhold a
student's credits, grades, or transcripts from the student, parent, or the
student's school of enrollment for any reason.
(9)
(a) If
a provider suspends or expels a student from an online course for disciplinary
reasons, the provider shall notify the student's primary LEA of enrollment by
placing the student on disciplinary withdrawal.
(b) A provider is responsible for due process
procedures for student disciplinary actions in the provider's online
program.
(c)
(i) A provider shall notify the
Superintendent of a student's administrative withdrawal, if the student is
inactive in a course for more than ten days, using forms and processes
developed by the Superintendent for this purpose.
(ii) If a student, parent, or counselor fails
to request reinstatement following notification under Subsection (c)(i), the
provider shall formally withdraw the student within 72 hours and notify the
student, parent, and primary LEA of the action.
(10) If a student entitled to services under
the IDEA is removed from an online program, the primary LEA shall work with the
student and the student's parents to identify alternatives to provide a free
and appropriate public education.
(11)
(a) A
provider shall provide to the Superintendent a list of course options using
USBE-provided course codes.
(b)
Beginning with the 2024-25 school year, a provider may only code program
courses as semester or quarter courses.
(c) A provider shall update the provider's
course offerings annually.
(12) A provider shall serve a student on a
first-come-first-served basis who desires to take courses and who is designated
eligible by a primary school of enrollment if desired courses have space
available.
(13) A provider shall
maintain and provide records and systems as part of a public online school or
program, including:
(a) financial and
enrollment records;
(b) information
for accountability, program monitoring, and audit purposes; and
(c) providing timely documentation of student
participation, enrollment, educator credentials, and additional data for other
purposes including giving a student's primary school of enrollment access to
the student's records to appropriately support the student.
(14) A provider shall maintain the
following for at least five calendar years after the student graduates:
(a) test scores;
(b) student grades;
(c) completion of credit; and
(d) other progress and performance
measures.
(15)
(a) A provider is responsible for complete
and timely submissions of record changes to executed CCAs and submission of
other reports and records as required by the Superintendent.
(b) A provider shall update CCAs to the
nearest credit value earned by June 30 annually.
(c) A provider may only maintain an CCA open
after June 30 if a student remains actively engaged in coursework, meeting the
provider's standard of active participation.
(16)
(a)
Before the inception of coursework, as a component of the provider's initial
communication of provisions of the provider's standard of active participation,
a provider shall inform a student and the student's parent of travel
expectations to fulfill course requirements.
(b) Travel expectations to fulfill course
requirements as described in Subsection (16)(a) include a requirement to
participate in a proctored assessment or other proctored or assessment
requirement outside a student's home, including travel to participate in
statewide assessments at a secure testing site.
(17)
(a) An
LEA may participate in the program as a provider by offering a school or
program consistent with Rule R277-115 to a Utah student in grades 6-12 who is
not a resident student of the LEA and a regularly-enrolled student of the LEA
consistent with Sections
53F-4-501 and
53F-4-503.
(b) An LEA program created in accordance with
Subsection (18)(a) for serving students in grades 9-12 online must partner with
an accredited school and shall:
(i) report
grades and credit earned by a student to the Superintendent; and
(ii) record educator assignments consistent
with Rule R277-484.
(18) A program school or program shall:
(a) be accredited consistent with Rule
R277-410;
(b) have a designated
administrator who meets the requirements of Rule R277-309;
(c) ensure that a student who qualifies for a
fee waiver receives services offered by and through the public schools
consistent with Section
53G-7-504 and Rule
R277-407;
(d) maintain student
records consistent with:
(i) the federal
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act,
20 U.S.C.
1232g and 34 CFR Part 99 ;
(ii) Rule R277-487;
(iii) this rule; and
(e) shall offer course work:
(i) aligned with Utah Core standards as
described in Sections
53E-4-202,
53F-4-505, and
53F-4-514;
(ii) in accordance with program requirements;
and
(iii) in accordance with Rules
R277-700 and R277-404;
(f) shall not issue transcripts under the
name of a third party provider; and
(g) shall record teaching assignments by
November 15 annually consistent with Rule R277-484 and Section
R277-312-3, either directly or
through a partner school in accordance with Subsection
(18)(b).
(19) An LEA that
offers an online program or school as a provider under the program:
(a) shall employ only educators licensed in
Utah as teachers;
(b) may not
employ an individual whose educator license has been suspended or
revoked;
(c) shall require
employees to meet requirements of Title 53G, Chapter 11, Part 4, Background
Checks, before the provider offering services to a student;
(d) may only employ teachers who meet the
requirements of Section
53E-6-201, Section
53F-4-504, and Rule
R277-309;
(e) for a provider that
provides an online course, including to a private or home school student, shall
agree to administer and, before approval as an authorized online course
provider, have the capacity to proctor and carry out the applicable statewide
assessments, consistent with Sections
53E-4-302,
53F-2-103, and Rule
R277-404;
(f) in accordance with
Section R277-726-8, shall provide
services to a student consistent with requirements of the IDEA, Section 504,
and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 for multilingual
students;
(g) shall submit CCAs to
the Superintendent before the provider initiating instruction of a
student;
(h) may not begin offering
instruction to a student until the Superintendent issues a notice of
enrollment, and the provider follows other enrollment procedures as prescribed
by the Superintendent for the student, and for each course the student
participates in; and
(i) shall
agree that funds may be withheld by the Superintendent consistent with Sections
53F-4-505,
53F-4-506,
53F-4-508, and
53F-4-518.
(21) A provider shall post required
information online on the provider's individual website including required
assessment and accountability information.
(22)
(a) A
provider contracting with a third party to provide educational services to
students participating with the provider through the Statewide Online Education
Program shall:
(b) develop a
written monitoring plan to supervise the activities and services provided by
the third party provider to ensure:
(i) a
third party provider is complying with:
(A)
federal law;
(B) state law;
and
(C) Board rules;
(ii) curriculum provided by a
third party provider is aligned with the Board's core standards and
rules;
(iii) a third party provider
has access to curriculum for alignment and adjustment to ensure the curriculum
is consistent with the Utah core standards in Rule R277-700 and a Board
approved core code;
(iv)
supervision of third party facilitation by an educator licensed in Utah:
(A) assigned by the provider; and
(B) reported as teacher of record per Section
R277-484-3 and Subsection
R277-726-2(3);
and
(v) consistent with
the LEA's administrative records retention schedule, maintenance of
documentation of the LEA's supervisory
activities.
(23) A provider shall offer courses
consistent with standards outlined in an applicable Statewide Services
Agreement, which may be updated or amended to reflect changes in law, rule or
recommended practice.
(24) All
authorized online course providers are subject to the same approval and annual
performance review as described for a certified online course provider in
Subsections R277-726-(11)(1) through (10) while utilizing the applicable
applications for an authorized online course provider described in Subsections
R277-726-3(1)(a) and
(b).
(25) A provider utilizing a third party shall
establish contractual and procedural safeguards:
(a) retaining legal and procedural authority
to open coursework to a participating student only upon issuance of a notice of
enrollment regarding a particular course and credit;
(b) signifying the provider's authority to
interact instructionally with a student not regularly-enrolled in an LEA, but
participating in SOEP courses with approval of the student's primary LEA of
enrollment; and
(c) including
acceptance of financial responsibility by a primary LEA of
enrollment.
(26) A
provider is not required to independently verify:
(a) early graduation status; or
(b) that high school courses taken through
the Statewide Online Education Program did not replace Middle School
courses.
(28)
(a) A provider shall adhere to requirements
to remain certified and in good standing within the program,
including:
(b) before providing
services to students, ensuring that 100% of all educators assigned as teacher
of record for all course sections shall be appropriately licensed, endorsed and
aligned with core code describing course assignment; and
(c) complying with requirements applicable to
an authorized online course provider described in this Rule R277-726, including
the requirement to maintain a course completion rate of at least 80%.
