ENROLLED HOUSE
BILL NO. 2180 By: Lowe (Dick) of the House
and
Thompson (Kristen), Stanley, Coleman, Garvin, Newhouse, Daniels, Pugh, and Stewart of the Senate
An Act relating to virtual charter schools; amending 70 O.S. 2021, Section 3-145.8, which relates to virtual charter school attendance; modifying attendance requirements for virtual charter school alternative education programs; defining term; clarifying timing requirement for completion of instructional activities; authorizing virtual charter school alternative education program to request a certain student waiver; directing office of accreditation to review the request and make a determination; requiring continued attendance while waiver is being reviewed; updating internal references; and providing an effective date.
SUBJECT: Virtual charter schools
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 3-145.8, is amended to read as follows:
Section 3-145.8 A. It shall be the duty
of each virtual charter school approved and sponsored by the Statewide Virtual Charter
School Board pursuant to the provisions of Section 3-145.3 of Title 70 of
the Oklahoma Statutes this title to keep a full and complete record
of the attendance of all students enrolled in the virtual charter school in one
of the student information systems approved by the State Department of
Education and locally selected by the virtual school from the approved list.
B.
By July 1, 2020, the governing body of each virtual charter school shall
adopt an attendance policy. The policy
may allow attendance to be a proportional amount of the required attendance
policy provisions based upon the date of enrollment of the student. The attendance policy shall include the
following provisions:
1.
The first date of attendance and membership shall be the first date the
student completes an instructional activity.
2.
A student who attends a virtual charter school shall be considered in
attendance for a quarter if the student:
a. completes
instructional activities on no less than ninety percent (90%) of the days
within the quarter,
b. is
on pace for on-time completion of the course as defined by the governing board
of the virtual charter school, or
c. completes
no less than seventy-two instructional activities within the quarter of the
academic year.
3.
For a student who does not meet any of the criteria set forth in
paragraph 1 or 2 of this subsection, the amount of attendance recorded shall be
the greater of:
a. the
number of school days during which the student completed the instructional
activities during the quarter,
b. the
number of school days proportional to the percentage of the course that has
been completed, or
c. the
number of school days proportional to the percentage of the required minimum
number of completed instructional activities during the quarter.
C.
For the purposes of this section, "instructional activities"
shall include instructional meetings with a teacher, completed assignments that
are used to record a grade for a student that is factored into the student's grade
for the semester during which the assignment is completed, testing and
school-sanctioned field trips, and orientation.
D. A student
enrolled in a virtual charter school alternative education program designated
by the State Department of Education who attends a full abbreviated school day
shall be counted in full attendance for purposes of computing the average daily
attendance and average daily membership of the virtual charter school. For purposes of this subsection, "full
abbreviated school day" shall mean one hundred eighty-nine (189) hours per
quarter or seven hundred fifty-six (756) hours per school year.
E. Each statewide virtual charter school
approved and sponsored by the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board pursuant
to the provisions of Section 3-145.3 of this title shall offer a student
orientation, notify the parent or legal guardian and each student who enrolls
in that school of the requirement to participate in the student orientation,
and require all students enrolled to complete the student orientation prior to
completing any other instructional activity.
The Statewide Virtual Charter School Board shall promulgate rules to
develop materials for orientation.
E. F. Any student that
who is behind pace and does not complete an instructional activity for a
fifteen-school-day period fifteen (15) consecutive days, including
weekends, shall be withdrawn for truancy.
The virtual charter school shall submit a notification to the parent or
legal guardian of a student who has been withdrawn for truancy or is
approaching truancy.
F.
A
G.
1. Except as provided in
paragraph 2 of this subsection, a student who is reported for truancy two times in the same
school year shall be withdrawn and prohibited from enrolling in the same
virtual charter school for the remainder of the school year.
2. If a student is enrolled in a virtual charter
school alternative education program designated by the State Department of
Education, the virtual charter school may request a waiver of the enrollment
prohibition from the Department on behalf of a student enrolled at the virtual
charter school who is reported for truancy two times in the same school year. The office of accreditation shall review the
waiver request and determine whether the student should be allowed to continue
attending the virtual charter school. The student shall continue attending the
virtual charter school while the waiver is being reviewed and until a final
determination is made.
G. H. The governing
body of each statewide virtual charter school shall develop, adopt and post on
the school's website a policy regarding consequences for a student's failure to
attend school and complete instructional activities. The policy shall state, at a minimum, that if
a student fails to consistently attend school and complete instructional
activities after receiving a notification pursuant to subsection E F
of this section and reasonable intervention strategies have been implemented, a
student shall be subject to certain consequences including withdrawal from the
school for truancy.
H. I. If a statewide
virtual charter school withdraws a student pursuant to subsections F and
G and H of this section, the virtual charter school shall immediately
notify the student's resident district in writing of the student's
disenrollment.
I. J. The provisions
of subsections F, G, H, and H I of this section
shall not be in effect until the implementation of subsection H of Section
3-145.3 of this title.
J. K. The Statewide
Virtual Charter School Board may promulgate rules to implement the provisions
of this section.
SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2023.
Passed the
House of Representatives the 22nd day of May, 2023.
Presiding
Officer of the House
of
Representatives
Passed the Senate the 25th day of
May, 2023.
Presiding
Officer of the Senate
OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
Received by the Office
of the Governor this ____________________ day of ___________________,
20_______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
By:
_________________________________
Approved by the
Governor of the State of Oklahoma this _________ day of ___________________,
20_______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
_________________________________
Governor of
the State of Oklahoma
OFFICE
OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE
Received by the Office
of the Secretary of State this __________ day of ___________________,
20_______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
By:
_________________________________