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Pennsylvania House of Representatives
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=H&SPick=20130&cosponId=13284
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House of Representatives
Session of 2013 - 2014 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted: September 10, 2013 12:17 PM
From: Representative Ryan P. Aument
To: All House members
Subject: Online Education Initiative
 
In the near future, I plan to introduce legislation that would increase online learning opportunities for students by requiring the PA Department of Education (PDE) to establish a central online clearinghouse that features an online database of online courses which will be made accessible to public schools, nonpublic schools, and home education programs.

In March of this year, I introduced House Bill (HB) 983, addressing this same issue, which provided for a clearinghouse of online courses for students in grades 3-12. Among other things, the bill required school entities to provide their students the opportunity to participate in the online courses in the clearinghouse, set specific pricing for courses, and required PDE to review and approve each course. As discussion of this concept progressed through a public hearing and extensive meetings with education groups, it became apparent that a number of concerns had to be addressed in order for this concept to advance. Addressing some of the concerns required extensive changes to the original language and intent of HB 983. Therefore, I am introducing new legislation responsive to the needs, concerns, and input received from the educational community.

In my new bill, PDE must establish a clearinghouse of online courses designed for students in grades 6-12. In order for a course to be included in the clearinghouse, a "provider" must submit an application to PDE which meets the specific criteria provided for in the bill. Those "providers" having the opportunity to develop and submit online courses for inclusion in the clearinghouse would include individuals, organizations, businesses, institutions of higher education, and school entities. PDE would create an online database that catalogs those online courses for which an application was approved through a streamlined application process. PDE would then make this database available to public schools, nonpublic schools, and home education programs to allow them to enter into free market contracts with providers for the use of online courses.

My bill would further require all public schools (including school districts, joint school districts, charter schools, cyber charter schools, regional charter schools, intermediate units, and area vocational-technical schools) to offer their students the opportunity to participate in online courses. Public schools would be required to provide this opportunity for grades 9-12 beginning in the 2015-16 school year and grades 6-12 beginning in the 2018-19 school year. In providing this opportunity, public schools may utilize online courses developed in-house or available through another school entity, the clearinghouse, or any other source. Public schools would also be required to establish their own policies and procedures governing eligibility and participation.

The bill further establishes parameters for administrative fees, purchasing of online courses, penalties, and general article construction. Finally, the legislation would require the Secretary of Education to submit a report on the program to the Governor and the General Assembly by June 30, 2018.

Thank you for your consideration of this proposed legislation.

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Introduced as HB1718