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PRINTER'S NO. 1894
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE BILL
No.
1273
Session of
2020
INTRODUCED BY AUMENT, PHILLIPS-HILL, DINNIMAN, ARGALL, PITTMAN,
SCHWANK AND BROWNE, AUGUST 24, 2020
REFERRED TO EDUCATION, AUGUST 24, 2020
AN ACT
Amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), entitled "An
act relating to the public school system, including certain
provisions applicable as well to private and parochial
schools; amending, revising, consolidating and changing the
laws relating thereto," providing for supplemental online
course initiative; and establishing the Online Course
Clearinghouse Restricted Account.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. The act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known
as the Public School Code of 1949, is amended by adding an
article to read:
ARTICLE XV- K
SUPPLEMENTAL ONLINE COURSE INITIATIVE
Section 1501- K. Definitions.
The following words and phrases when used in this article
shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Account." The Online Course Clearinghouse Restricted
Account established under section 1502-K(g).
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"Assessment." As defined in section 1138.1.
"Asynchronous learning." Student participation in cyber
courses at the student's own pace.
"Blended-learning." The delivery of instruction in a
combination of time in a supervised physical location away from
home and online delivery whereby the student has some element of
control over time, place, path or pace of learning.
"Clearinghouse." The central online clearinghouse
established under section 1502-K.
"Department." The Department of Education of the
Commonwealth.
"Home education program." A program conducted in compliance
with section 1327.1.
"Institution of higher education." The term includes any of
the following:
(1) A community college operating under Article XIX-A.
(2) A university within the State System of Higher
Education.
(3) The Pennsylvania State University.
(4) The University of Pittsburgh.
(5) Temple University.
(6) Lincoln University.
(7) A rural regional college.
(8) Any other institution that is designated as "State-
related" by the Commonwealth.
(9) The Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology.
(10) Any accredited private or independent college or
university.
"Nonpublic school." A school, other than a public school,
located within this Commonwealth where a Commonwealth resident
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may legally fulfill the compulsory school attendance
requirements of this act and that meets the applicable
requirements of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Public
Law 88-352, 78 Stat. 241).
"Online course." A course of study that uses technology to
provide asynchronous learning, blended-learning or synchronous
learning to students through the Internet or other electronic
means. The term may include supporting materials related to the
course. The term does not include a platform that offers free
lectures, language lessons and audiobooks from universities and
museums.
"Provider." A nonprofit or for-profit organization,
business, institution of higher education or school entity which
has submitted one or more online courses to the department for
inclusion in the clearinghouse established under this article.
"School entity." A school district, joint school district,
charter school, regional charter school, cyber charter school,
intermediate unit or area career and technical school.
"Secretary." The Secretary of Education of the Commonwealth.
"Synchronous learning." Student participation in a cyber
course at the same time, but in a different location, as the
instructor and other students.
Section 1502- K. Clearinghouse for online course offerings.
(a) Duty to establish.--The department shall establish a
central online clearinghouse which shall at a minimum include an
online database of kindergarten through grade 12 online courses
and shall be accessible by school entities, nonpublic schools,
home education programs and the general public. The
clearinghouse shall offer the following:
(1) Beginning with the 2020-2021 school year and each
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school year thereafter, online courses for all content areas
assessed by an assessment , as well as online courses which
provide supplementary instruction relating to an assessment,
free of charge to school entities. The department may utilize
any existing online courses it has already developed for
content areas assessed by an assessment in meeting the
requirements of this paragraph.
(2) Beginning with the 2021-2022 school year and each
school year thereafter, online cour ses aligned with the State
academic standards for education provided in 22 Pa. Code Ch.
4 (relating to academic standards and assessment) from
providers that have been approved under subsection (c) .
Online courses included in the clearinghouse from providers
under this paragraph may be free of charge or subject to
purchase under the provisions of subsection (f).
(b) Responsibilities of department.--The department shall:
(1) Create an online database that catalogs those online
courses for which an existing online course or an application
was approved under subsection (c) and make the database
available to school entities, nonpublic schools, home
education programs and the general public.
(2) Construct the database provided for under paragraph
(1) in such a way as to:
(i) Provide information on each online course listed
in the database, including, but not limited to, a
description of the content and applicable grade levels of
each online course.
(ii) Provide each school entity, nonpublic school or
home education program which has utilized an online
course from the clearinghouse the opportunity to present
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feedback and rate the online course which the school
entity, nonpublic school or home education program has
utilized. In providing feedback, each school entity,
nonpublic school or home education program may, with
discretion and in compliance with all applicable Federal
and State laws, share on the database personal comments
received by the school entity, nonpublic school or home
education program from parents and students about the
online course.
(iii) Display feedback and a cumulative rating of an
online course as a part of the information provided about
the online course.
(iv) Provide contact information to school entities,
nonpublic schools and home education programs of
providers of online courses cataloged in the
clearinghouse to expedite the purchasing of those online
courses.
(3) At least annually, or at any time the provider
notifies the department of updates of an online course
changes, update the database provided for under paragraph
(1).
(4) Collect application fees provided for in subsection
(d) and deposit the fees into the account.
(5) Utilize the money in the account, including interest
on the money, to pay expenses incurred by the department in
carrying out its duties under this article.
(6) Explore the possibility for Federal and private
funding to support the clearinghouse.
(7) Upon request, provide assistance to school districts
which have been declared to be in financial recovery status
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or identified for financial watch status under Article VI-A
by facilitating the school districts' search for low-cost or
no-cost online course options.
(c) Applications.--The department shall develop an
application and an application review and approval process that
specify the time, form and manner by which providers may submit
their online course offerings to the department for inclusion in
the clearinghouse. The department shall approve applications
under the following procedures:
(1) In the case of an online course which does not
provide instruction in a content area assessed by an
assessment and which is not used to provide supplementary
instruction relating to an assessment, a provider may submit
an application to the department for approval of the online
course through a certification process t hat the online course
being submitted for inclusion in the clearinghouse is aligned
to the State academic standards for education provided for in
22 Pa. Code Ch. 4 . The application for the process under this
paragraph shall include:
(i) Evidence that the online course being submitted
for inclusion in the clearinghouse fulfills at least one
of the following criteria:
(A) has been approved by another state for use
by its public schools;
(B) has been developed by a provider that has
been accredited by a national accreditation body
recognized by the United States Department of
Education; or
(C) has been designed by a school entity that
utilizes the online course or provides the online
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course to another school entity for its use.
(ii) Evidence that the online course being submitted
for inclusion in the clearinghouse includes an assessment
component for determining student performance.
(iii) Evidence that the online course being
submitted for inclusion in the clearinghouse:
(A) Provides a detailed and quality curriculum
and accountability plan.
(B) Includes an assessment component for
determining student proficiency.
(C) Is adapted to the age, development and needs
of the students.
(2) In the case of an online course which does not
provide instruction in a content area assessed by an
assessment and which is not used to provide supplementary
instruction relating to an assessment, a provider may
voluntarily submit an application to the department for
approval of the online course through the department review
process established under paragraph (1).
(d) Fees, application review and approval.--The following
shall apply to the establishment of fees and the review and
approval of applications:
(1) The department may establish a nonrefundable
administrative fee not to exceed $75 for the purpose of
reviewing each application submitted by a school entity under
subsection (c)(1).
(2) The department may establish a nonrefundable
administrative fee not to exceed $750 for the purpose of
reviewing each application submitted by a provider other than
a school entity under subsection (c)(2) or (3).
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(3) If, after a review of an application, the department
determines that the application meets the applicable
requirements under subsection (c), the department shall
approve the application, notify the provider of the approval
and include the online course in the database provided for
under subsection (b)(1) until the provider requests that the
online course be removed or the department removes the online
course under the provisions of paragraph (5).
(4) If, after a review of an application, the department
determines that the application does not meet the applicable
requirements under subsection (c), the department shall
notify the provider of the reason approval was withheld so
that the provider may revise and resubmit the application.
Any application that has been resubmitted for review shall be
subject to the associated administrative fee authorized by
this subsection.
(5) The department may revisit and review any approved
application at any time and remove the associated online
course from the database provided for under subsection (b)(1)
if the department determines that:
(i) the information contained in the application was
false or misleading or is no longer accurate;
(ii) the online course has been materially changed
or revised in such a way that the approval previously
granted for the online course should not apply and the
provider of the online course has not submitted an
application to the department seeking approval of the
revisions to the online course in accordance with the
application and fee requirements of this section; or
(iii) the standards applicable to the course have
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materially changed in such a way that the approval
previously granted for the online course should not apply
and the provider of the online course has not submitted
an application to the department within 30 days seeking
approval of the online course with revisions to address
the revised standards in accordance with the application
and fee requirements of this section.
(e) Appeal.--A determination by the department that an
online course which provides instruction in a content area
assessed by an assessment or which is used to provide
supplementary instruction relating to an assessment does not
meet the criteria under subsection (c)(2) shall be appealable
under 2 Pa.C.S. (relating to administrative law and procedure).
(f) Contracts for the provision of courses cataloged in the
clearinghouse.--The following shall apply to contracts entered
into by school entities, nonpublic schools or home education
programs and providers of online courses cataloged in the
clearinghouse:
(1) The purchase price and other payment and contract
terms of an online course cataloged in the clearinghouse
shall be determined by direct negotiations between a school
entity, nonpublic school or home education program and a
provider.
(2) Immediately upon commencing negotiations of the
terms of a contract for an online course, a provider shall
provide the school entity, nonpublic school or home education
program with information regarding refund policies and the
process for contesting payment amounts.
(g) Online Course Clearinghouse Restricted Account.-- The
Online Course Clearinghouse Restricted Account is established as
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a restricted revenue account in the General Fund . The following
shall apply:
(1) The account shall consist of application fees
collected under subsection (d), fines collected under section
1504-K and any interest generated by money in the account.
(2) The money in the account is appropriated to the
department on a continuing basis for the purposes of paying
expenses incurred by the department in carrying out its
duties relating to the administration of the clearinghouse
under this article.
Section 1503-K. School entities.
A school entity may utilize any online course made available
through a school entity, through the clearinghouse or through
any other source. A school entity that offers online courses to
students shall:
(1) Determine how instruction relating to an online
course shall be delivered.
(2) Establish policies and procedures for student
eligibility and participation, including a policy on the
selection of online courses made available to students by the
school entity. The policies and procedures shall be made
accessible to parents and students and posted on the school
entity's publicly accessible Internet website.
(3) Ensure that parents and students are made aware of
the opportunity for online learning and make information
about available online courses easily accessible to parents
and students.
Section 1504- K. Penalties.
(a) Participation prohibited.--If the department determines
that a provider intentionally submitted false or misleading
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information on an application, the provider shall be prohibited
from participating in the clearinghouse for a period of five
years.
(b) Fine.--In addition to the penalty provided under
subsection (a), a provider may be assessed a fine of up to
$1,000 for each application on which the provider was found by
the department to have intentionally submitted false or
misleading information.
(c) Deposit of fines.--Any fines assessed in accordance with
this section shall be deposited into the account.
(d) Appeal.--A determination by the department that a
provider intentionally submitted false or misleading information
on an application shall be appealable under 2 Pa.C.S. (relating
to administrative law and procedure).
Section 1505-K. Report.
The secretary shall submit a report to the Governor, the
chairperson and minority chairperson of the Education Committee
of the Senate and the chairperson and minority chairperson of
the Education Committee of the House of Representatives and post
the report on the department's publicly accessible Internet
website no later than June 30, 2024. The report shall at a
minimum include all of the following information:
(1) The number of students participating in online
courses.
(2) The number of students participating in online
courses from the clearinghouse.
(3) The number of online courses available through the
clearinghouse.
(4) A description of the types of online courses
available through the clearinghouse.
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(5) An assessment of the academic impact of online
courses on the participating students.
(6) Recommendations for improving the clearinghouse.
Section 1506 -K. Construction.
Nothing in this article shall be construed to:
(1) Prevent a school entity from establishing and
offering its own online course or program.
(2) Prevent a school entity or school entity personnel
from:
(i) supplementing an online course;
(ii) providing assistance, tutoring or enrichment to
a student enrolled in an online course;
(iii) using the content of an online course in
instruction delivered by school district personnel; or
(iv) monitoring a student's progress and attention
to instruction in an online course.
(3) Require a student to participate in an online course
offered by a school entity.
(4) Supersede or preempt the rights, remedies and
procedures afforded to school employees or labor
organizations under Federal or State law, including the act
of July 23, 1970 (P.L.563, No.195), known as the Public
Employe Relations Act, or any provision of a collective
bargaining agreement negotiated between a school entity and
an exclusive representative of the employees under the Public
Employe Relations Act.
Section 1507-K. Guidelines.
The department shall develop guidelines necessary to
implement this article.
Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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