Are there provisions for full-time virtual charter schools?
State Scores for this Component
Are there provisions for full-time virtual charter schools?
Alabama law does not include any of the model law’s provisions for full-time virtual charter schools.
Are there provisions for full-time virtual charter schools?
Alaska law does not include any of the model law's provisions for full-time virtual charter schools.
Are there provisions for full-time virtual charter schools?
Arizona law does not include any of the model law’s provisions for full-time virtual charter schools.
Are there provisions for full-time virtual charter schools?
Arkansas law includes a small number of the model law’s provisions for full-time virtual charter schools. The law provides that full-time virtual charter schools that serve students from more than one district may only be approved by the state department of education.
Are there provisions for full-time virtual charter schools?
California law imposes a moratorium on the establishment of new, nonclassroom-based charter schools until January 1, 2025.
California law allows virtual instruction to occur for charter and traditional school via provisions for nonclassroom-based instruction, including independent study provisions.
Funding amounts are determined via a funding request from the school, as approved by the state board of education, based on the nonclassroom-based daily average attendance, as well as expenditure data on instruction and related services, school site operations and facilities, administration, and all other activities. In addition, the school must provide data to affirm compliance with the maximum student-to-teacher ratios (unless certain academic standards are met), and other law and policy affirmations including that all transactions, contracts, and agreements are in the best interest of the school and reflect a reasonable market rate. The amount approved shall be 70% of total, unless a greater or lesser percentage is determined appropriate by the state board (based upon the recommendation of the California Advisory Commission on Charter Schools, which also has the power to request additional information as needed when reviewing the funding request).
Beyond accountability measures for all schools, the law requires additional items for those schools engaged in independent study (which is a form of nonclassroom-based instruction), whereby each student must have a written agreement (signed by the student, parent – if student under 18 - and school personnel), including, but not limited to: (1) the manner, time, frequency, and place for submitting a pupil’s assignments and for reporting his or her progress; (2) the objectives and methods of study for the pupil’s work, and the methods utilized to evaluate that work; (3) the specific resources, including materials and personnel that will be made available to the pupil; and (4) a statement of the policies adopted regarding the maximum length of time allowed between the assignment and the completion of a pupil’s assigned work, and the number of missed assignments allowed before an evaluation of whether or not the pupil should be allowed to continue in independent study. Law requires that certificated employees and each pupil shall communicate in person, by telephone, or by any other live visual or audio connection no less than twice per calendar month to assess whether each pupil is making satisfactory educational progress. If satisfactory educational progress is not being made, certificated employees providing instruction shall notify the pupil and, if the pupil is less than 18 years of age, the pupil’s parent or legal guardian, and conduct an evaluation to determine whether it is in the best interest of the pupil to remain in the course or whether he or she should be referred to an alternative program, which may include, but is not limited to, a regular school program.
Are there provisions for full-time virtual charter schools?
Colorado’s law includes a small number of the model law’s provisions regarding full-time virtual charter schools.
The law requires the state board of education to adopt rules regarding quality standards for such schools covering areas such as: governance, vision, and organization; standards-based curricula and data-driven instructional practices; technological capacity and support; internet safety; sound financial and accounting practices and resources; student academic performance and improvement; monitoring and assessment of student academic performance and improvement; course completion measurements; attendance tracking procedures; data analysis, management, and reporting; guidance counseling; engagement of parents and communities in online programs and online schools; provisions for students with special needs, including gifted and talented students and English language learners; and program evaluation and improvement.
The law also requires annual reporting from such schools to their authorizers. It also requires such schools to submit a request to the authorizer and the department of education of any intent to amend the program's or school's application for certification to expand grade levels served by the program or school. Approval for such changes must be obtained from the department.
Are there provisions for full-time virtual charter schools?
Connecticut law does not contain any of the model law’s provisions for full-time virtual charter schools.
Are there provisions for full-time virtual charter schools?
Delaware law does not allow full-time virtual charter schools.
Are there provisions for full-time virtual charter schools?
D.C. law does not contain any of the model law’s provisions for full-time virtual charter schools.
Are there provisions for full-time virtual charter schools?
Florida’s law includes a small number of the model law’s provisions regarding full-time virtual charter schools.
The law provides performance-based funding to full-time virtual charter schools.
The law also provides that virtual charter schools may be authorized only if the virtual charter school has an executed contract with a state approved provider of virtual instruction services.
Are there provisions for full-time virtual charter schools?
Georgia law does not contain any of the model law’s provisions for full-time virtual charter schools. However, Georgia law requires the Department of Audits and Accounts to develop an annual report on state charter schools that offer virtual instruction. The Department of Audits and Accounts may consult with the state charter school commission to develop and collect information for the report.
The annual report shall include at a minimum: school enrollment, including special education population and other subgroups; attendance rate and method of measurement; attrition rate; course segment completion rates; academic performance, including College and Career Ready Performance Index (CCRPI) scores, value-added analysis, Beating the Odds analysis, and student engagement and persistence; other academic performance as it relates to the goals of the school's charter; comparison of student academic growth and achievement prior to placement; governance and management; staffing and teacher qualification data; school finances, including actual income and expenditures for the prior fiscal year; operational performance, including analysis of academic performance as a ratio of per student expenditures; innovative practices and implementation; analysis of alternate academic options for enrolled students; and future plans. The annual report shall also include information on the implementation of professional development plans for persons in administrative, supervisory, or instructional leadership roles who do not hold a valid administrative license; a copy of all charter school agreements for corporate management services, including the company's parent corporation; and agreements for other administrative, financial, and staffing services.
The Department of Audits and Accounts shall submit the annual report on each state charter school that offers virtual instruction to the commission, the State Board of Education, the Governor, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Lieutenant Governor by December 1 of each year. The annual report shall also be posted on the state charter school's official website.
Every four years or the year before a charter for a state charter school that offers virtual instruction becomes eligible for renewal, whichever is earlier, the Department of Audits and Accounts shall compile the data included in the annual reports for such state charter school and identify any long-term trends regarding academic performance, financial data, and governance data. Such comprehensive report shall outline how the state charter school's actual performance compared to the goals outlined in its charter. The Department of Audits and Accounts shall submit the comprehensive report of each such state charter school to the commission, the State Board of Education, the Governor, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Lieutenant Governor by January 1 of the year in which the state charter school becomes eligible for renewal. The comprehensive report shall also be posted on the state charter school's official website.
Are there provisions for full-time virtual charter schools?
Hawaii law does not contain any of the model law’s provisions for full-time virtual charter schools.
Are there provisions for full-time virtual charter schools?
Idaho law contains a small number of the model law’s provisions regarding full-time virtual charter schools. Specifically, the law provides that local school districts cannot authorize full-time virtual charter schools. It provides that only statewide authorizers may approve such schools.
Are there provisions for full-time virtual charter schools?
Illinois law does not contain any of the model law’s provisions for full-time virtual charter schools.
Are there provisions for full-time virtual charter schools?
Indiana law includes a small number of the model law’s provisions regarding full-time virtual charter schools.
The law provides that a new virtual charter school may only apply for authorization with any statewide authorizer and a virtual charter school that has a charter may renew a charter only with a statewide authorizer.
The law requires that 60% of the students who are enrolled in virtual charter schools for the first time each school year must have been included in the state’s ADM count for the previous school year.
The law requires each charter school to adopt a student engagement policy. It provides that a student who regularly fails to participate in courses may be withdrawn from enrollment under policies adopted by the virtual charter school. The policies adopted by the virtual charter school must ensure that:
* Adequate notice of the withdrawal is provided to the parent and the student.
* An opportunity is provided before the withdrawal of the student by the virtual charter school for the student or the parent to demonstrate that failure to participate in the course is due to an event that would be considered an excused absence under state law.
The law provides that a student who is withdrawn from enrollment for failure to participate in courses pursuant to the school’s student engagement policy may not reenroll in that same virtual charter school for the school year in which the student is withdrawn.
The law provides that an authorizer shall review and monitor whether a virtual charter school complies with these requirements.
The law requires each authorizer of a virtual charter school to establish requirements or guidelines for virtual charter schools authorized by the authorizer that include the following: requirements for a mandatory annual onboarding process and orientation; a requirement that a virtual charter school must provide to a parent of a student the student engagement and attendance requirements or policies of the virtual charter school; requirements relating to tracking and monitoring student participation and attendance; ongoing student engagement and counseling policy requirements; and employee policy requirements, including professional development requirements.
The law requires each virtual charter school to report annually to the state department of education concerning the following, on a schedule determined by the department:
* Classroom size.
* The ratio of teachers per classroom.
* The number student-teacher meetings conducted in person or by video conference.
* Any other information determined by the department.
The law requires the department to provide this information annually to the state board of education and the legislative council.
The law provides that a virtual charter school is to be funded at a level of 85% of the amount it would otherwise receive if it were a brick and mortar charter school (the previous level was 90%).
Are there provisions for full-time virtual charter schools?
Iowa law does not contain any of the model law’s provisions for full-time virtual charter schools.
Are there provisions for full-time virtual charter schools?
Kansas law does not include any of the model law’s provisions for full-time virtual charter schools.
Are there provisions for full-time virtual charter schools?
Louisiana law does not include any of the model law’s provisions regarding full-time virtual charter schools.
Are there provisions for full-time virtual charter schools?
The law provides that only the State Charter Schools Commission can approve virtual schools.Maine law provides that the total enrollment at all virtual public charter schools authorized by the State Charter Schools Commission may not exceed 1,000 students.
According to the law, the charter contract of a virtual public charter school must require the governing board to:
* Provide each student enrolled in the virtual public charter school with online courses that meet or exceed state standards and all instructional materials required for the student's participation in the school;
* Ensure that the persons who operate the virtual public charter school on a day-to-day basis comply with and carry out all applicable requirements, statutes, regulations, rules and policies of the school;
* Ensure that a parent of each student verifies the number of hours of educational activities completed by the student each school year; and
* Adopt a plan by which the governing board provides:
• Frequent, ongoing monitoring to ensure and verify that each student is participating in the virtual public charter school, including synchronous contact between teachers and students and between teachers and parents to ensure and verify student participation and learning;
• Regular instructional opportunities in real time that are directly related to the virtual public charter school's curricular objectives, including, but not limited to, meetings with teachers and educational field trips and outings;
• Verification of ongoing student attendance in the virtual public charter school;
• Verification of ongoing student progress and performance in each course as documented by ongoing assessments and examples of student course work; and
• Administration to all students in a proctored setting of all applicable assessments as required by the State.
Are there provisions for full-time virtual charter schools?
Maryland law does not allow full-time virtual charter schools.
Are there provisions for full-time virtual charter schools?
Massachusetts law does not allow full-time virtual charter schools.
Are there provisions for full-time virtual charter schools?
Michigan’s law does not include any of the model law’s provisions regarding full-time virtual charter schools. However, it includes other provisions concerning these schools.
The law allows a cyber school to serve up to 2,500 students in its first year of operation, not more than 5,000 students in its second year of operation, and not more than 10,000 students in its third and subsequent years of operation. However, the enrollment increases are not based on performance.
The law also provides that any entity applying for a school of excellence charter school that is a cyber school must demonstrate experience in delivering a quality question program that improves pupil academic achievement, with the authorizing body using the standards for quality online learning established by national associations.
The board of any charter school that offers online learning must submit a report to the state that details per-pupil costs, including those related to textbooks, computers, salaries, purchased courses, fees associated with oversight and regulation, travel costs associated with school activities and testing, facilities costs, and costs associated with special education. Monthly reports on the number of students enrolled are also required.
Are there provisions for full-time virtual charter schools?
Minnesota law includes a small number of the model law’s provisions regarding full-time virtual charter schools.
For a student enrolled in an online learning course, the law provides that the state department of education must calculate average daily membership and that no online learning average daily membership shall be generated if the student does not complete the online learning course.
Minnesota law also requires that a charter school offering online courses or programs must comply with some additional statuary requirements including approval of their on-line learning programs by the state department of education initially and then every three years. The online learning provider must give the commissioner written assurance that: (1) all courses meet state academic standards; and (2) the online learning curriculum, instruction, and assessment, expectations for actual teacher-contact time or other student-to-teacher communication, and academic support meet nationally recognized professional standards and are described as such in an online learning course syllabus that meets the commissioner's requirements.
Are there provisions for full-time virtual charter schools?
Mississippi law does not include any of the model law’s provisions regarding full-time virtual charter schools.
Are there provisions for full-time virtual charter schools?
Missouri law does not include any of the model law’s provisions for full-time virtual charter schools.
Are there provisions for full-time virtual charter schools?
Nevada law defines a “charter school for distance education” as a charter school that provides a full-time program of distance education in order to treat them differently than brick-and-mortar charter schools. Nevada law limits enrollment in charter schools for distance education authorized by a district to only students residing in that district.
Nevada law allows a charter school management organization to apply directly to the State Public Charter School Authority to operate a charter school for distance education.
Nevada law places additional requirements into the application for a charter school for distance education, including a description of: the support available to each pupil in his or her home or community, including the availability and frequency of interactions between the pupil and teachers; the methods the charter school for distance education will use to administer any test, exam, or assessment required by state or federal law; the methods the charter school for distance education will use to assess the academic success of pupils; and the criteria pupils must meet to be eligible for enrollment at the charter school for distance education and the process for accepting pupils.
Nevada law requires the State Public Charter School Authority to adopt a standard charter contract to be used for each charter school for distance education.
Nevada law requires that any charter contract to operate a charter school for distance education entered into on or after July 31, 2019, must include a description of: the support available to each pupil, in his or her home or community, including the availability and frequency of interactions between the pupil and teachers; the methods the charter school for distance education will use to administer any test, exam, or assessment required by state or federal law; the methods the charter school for distance education will use to assess the academic success of pupils; and the criteria pupils must meet to be eligible for enrollment at the charter school for distance education and the process for accepting pupils.
Nevada law provides that for the purposes of calculating attendance, truancy, and transiency of pupils, a charter school for distance education may use the following methods: the amount of time each pupil spends on a computer, television, Internet website, or other means of communication used to administer the program of distance education; the progress of each pupil in completing tasks during a specific period of time; or the number of lessons and units completed by each pupil.
Nevada law deems the State Public Charter School Authority as a local educational agency for all charter schools for distance education which are authorized by the Authority.
Are there provisions for full-time virtual charter schools?
New Hampshire law includes a small number of the model law’s provisions regarding full-time virtual charter schools. New Hampshire law provides performance-based funding for full-time virtual charter schools.
Are there provisions for full-time virtual charter schools?
New Jersey law does not allow full-time virtual charter schools.
Are there provisions for full-time virtual charter schools?
New Mexico law does not contain any of the model law’s provisions regarding full-time virtual charter schools.
Are there provisions for full-time virtual charter schools?
New York law does not allow full-time virtual charter schools.
Are there provisions for full-time virtual charter schools?
North Carolina law does not include any of the model law’s provisions regarding full-time virtual charter schools.
Are there provisions for full-time virtual charter schools?
The law allows up to five new virtual charter schools could be approved per year, all subject to the approval of the superintendent of public instruction with such approval based on applicants demonstrating experience and quality.
The law also permits an exemplary rated authorizer to open up to two new virtual charter schools to serve primarily students enrolled in a dropout recovery program, not to exceed six new schools in five years.
Ohio law allows full-time virtual charter schools to require an orientation course for all new students.
Ohio law requires a charter school’s governing authority to adopt an attendance policy that includes a procedure for automatically withdrawing a student from the school if the student without a legitimate excuse fails to participate in seventy-two consecutive hours of the learning opportunities offered to the student.
Ohio’s law contains provisions requiring these schools to provide computers and other technology equipment and support, have a teacher of record for not more than 125 students each, have a location for testing, counseling, and instructional coaching within 50 miles of each student, document daily learning hours, have contacts with parents, have an orientation course for students, and have planes for providing special education services.
Starting in 2016, all such schools need to also comply with the standards developed by the international association for K-12 online learning.
The law provides that in the case there exists any business or familial relationship between a governing authority of a charter school or any of its officers or employees and a management company contracted by the school or any of that company's officers or employees, other than the operator agreement itself, the management company shall agree to indemnify the school for financial losses to the charter school up to the amount of the moneys received by the management company.
Ohio has created certain controls to align how much a school is paid with how much each student actually engages with the school.
First, when a student enrolls in a full-time virtual charter school, no funding flows to the school until the student receives a computer and online access is verified during the enrollment process. Typically, schools will use a UPS confirmation as proof they sent the computer. Therefore, the school has an upfront financial stake in making sure each student has the tools to engage and has actually logged into the school’s online program.
The state calculates the annual per-pupil amount for each school and makes a monthly payment equal to one-twelfth of that amount. Each month, the Ohio Department of Education pulls data regarding student participation at each school and the monthly payment is adjusted up or down accordingly based on each student’s particaption. After the school year, a reconciliation process is conducted by the Ohio Department of Education. If the end-of-school-year reconcilitation process finds that a student engaged in learning at a lower level than was reported over the course of the year, that student’s school will owe funding to the state. Some schools avoid large end-of-school-year overpayments by adjusting participation time down in each monthly report.
To demonstrate the time a student participates, the state audit gathers the following information for each student:
• The calendar reported by the school;
• The enrollment start date;
• The enrollment end date; and,
• The percent of time the student engaged in learning.
To demonstrate time the student is engaged in learning, the minimum information provided is:
• Student ID;
• Brief description of learning opportunities, such as class or course information;
• Dates and times of actual learning opportunities;
• Total of verified learning opportunities time; and,
• Teacher certification of the reported learning opportunities.
Are there provisions for full-time virtual charter schools?
Oklahoma law provides that the statewide virtual charter school board must serve as the authorizer when the charter school is for the purpose of establishing a full-time statewide virtual charter school. It also provides that no school district shall offer full-time virtual education to students who are not residents of the school district or enter into a virtual charter school contract with a provider to provide full-time virtual education to students who do not reside within the school district boundaries.Starting in the 2021-22 school year, all public school students wishing to attend a virtual charter school are considered a transfer student from their resident school district. Such students have only one such transfer per year, unless they change their mind during a 15-day grace period or unless another transfer is agreed to by the resident district and receiving virtual charter school. All virtual charter schools must require students to complete an orientation prior to other instructional activities.
The law requires the governing body of each virtual charter school to 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. A student who attends a virtual charter school shall be considered in attendance for a quarter if the student:
* completes instructional activities on no less than 90% of the days within the quarter,
* is on pace for on-time completion of the course as defined by the governing board of the virtual charter school, or
* completes no less than seventy-two instructional activities within the quarter of the academic year.
Such 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, school-sanctioned field trips, and orientation.
Any student that is behind pace and does not complete an instructional activity for a fifteen-school-day-period shall be withdrawn for truancy and be taken off the roll beginning the sixteenth day and thereafter is not considered in the virtual charter school's average daily membership calculation until the pupil is placed on the roll in the virtual charter school. 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. Each statewide virtual charter school must also adopt a policy regarding consequences for a student's failure to consistently attend school and complete instructional activities, including withdrawal from the school for truancy. If a statewide virtual charter school withdraws a student, it must immediately notify the student's resident district in writing of the student's disenrollment.
2. For a student who does not meet any of the criteria set forth in paragraph 1 of this subsection, the amount of attendance recorded shall be the greater of:
* the number of school days during which the student completed the instructional activities during the quarter,
* the number of school days proportional to the percentage of the course that has been completed, or
* the number of school days proportional to the percentage of the required minimum number of completed instructional activities during the quarter.
Oklahoma law subjects virtual charter schools to the same reporting requirements, financial audits, audit procedures, and audit requirements as school districts.
Oklahoma law provides that the State Department of Education or State Auditor and Inspector may conduct financial, program, or compliance audits of virtual charter schools.
Oklahoma law requires virtual charter schools to use the Oklahoma Cost Accounting System to report financial transactions to the State Department of Education.
Oklahoma law provides that a virtual charter school governing body shall be responsible for the policies that govern the operational decisions of the virtual charter school, that the governing body of a virtual charter school shall be subject to the same conflict of interest requirements as a member of a local school board, and that members appointed to the governing body of a virtual charter school after July 1, 2019, are subject to the same instruction and continuing education requirements as a member of a local school board, complete 12 hours of instruction within 15 months of appointment to the governing body, and attend continuing education.
Are there provisions for full-time virtual charter schools?
Oregon law includes a small number of the model law’s provisions regarding full-time virtual charter schools. Oregon law and includes some additional requirements for full-time virtual charter schools, covering things like record keeping, requirements if contracting with an ESP, and the provision of equipment, teachers, and other program services. The law also requires the inclusion of performance criteria the school must use to measure obtainment of academic performance goals and that the school must also monitor and track student progress and attendance.
Are there provisions for full-time virtual charter schools?
Pennsylvania law includes a small number of the model law’s provisions regarding full-time virtual charter schools.
The law provides that cyber charter schools may only be authorized by the state department of education.
The law states that a charter school may establish reasonable criteria to evaluate prospective students, which shall be outlined in the school's charter.
Law requires applications for virtual charters to describe a number of additional elements specific to virtual learning, including the monitoring of attendance, provision of student and special education services, and assessment of student learning.
Are there provisions for full-time virtual charter schools?
Rhode Island law does not allow full-time virtual charter schools.
Are there provisions for full-time virtual charter schools?
South Carolina law contains a small number of the model law’s provisions regarding full-time virtual charter schools.
South Carolina law includes some additional accountability for full-time virtual charter schools, such as those related to record keeping, the provision of equipment, teachers, and other program services (including at least 25% of a student’s time being engaged in instructional opportunities in real time such as meetings with teachers and educational field trips and outings, as well as the requirement of bi-weekly parent-teacher conferences in person or by phone).
The law also requires the inclusion of performance criteria the school must use to measure obtainment of academic performance goals, and that the school must also monitor and track student progress and attendance.
The law does not address the other provisions related to full-time virtual charter schools found in the model law.
Are there provisions for full-time virtual charter schools?
Tennessee law does not allow full-time virtual charter schools.
Are there provisions for full-time virtual charter schools?
Texas law includes a small number of the model law’s provisions regarding full-time virtual charter schools. It provides that a school district or open-enrollment charter school is eligible to act as a full-time virtual school by providing electronic courses through the state virtual school network. An open-enrollment charter school may serve as a course provider only to a student within its service area, to another student in the state through agreement with the school district in which the student resides, or if the student receives educational services under the supervision of a juvenile probation department, the Texas Juvenile Justice Department, or the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, through an agreement with the applicable agency. The law provides that an open-enrollment charter school may serve grades 3-12 through the Texas Virtual School Network and must be approved by the Commissioner of the Texas Education Agency (TEA).
Are there provisions for full-time virtual charter schools?
Utah law includes a small number of the model law’s provisions for full-time virtual charter schools. Utah law provides a performance-based funding system for full-time virtual charter schools.
Are there provisions for full-time virtual charter schools?
Virginia law does not allow full-time virtual charter schools.
Are there provisions for full-time virtual charter schools?
Washington law does not contain any of the model law’s provisions for full-time virtual charter schools.
Are there provisions for full-time virtual charter schools?
The law provides that the Professional Charter School Board may authorize two statewide virtual public charter school which shall not count against the other limits on charter schools in the law. A statewide virtual public charter school shall enroll no more than five percent of the state’s headcount enrollment per year, provided that a statewide virtual public charter school shall enroll no more than 1,500 students total before July 1, 2024.
County boards may authorize virtual public charter schools for students in an identified primary recruitment area within the state that is set forth in the charter application. Each county board may authorize no more than one virtual public charter school. Attendance to a virtual public charter school authorized by a county board is limited to students within the primary recruitment area identified in the application. Applications to establish a virtual public charter school shall not include within its primary recruitment area a location that is included in the primary recruitment area of another virtual public school that has already been authorized. A county virtual public charter school shall enroll no more than 10 percent of a county’s headcount enrollment.
The charter for a virtual public charter school is for a term of five years; and virtual public charter school renewals are also for a term of five years.
Virtual public charter school funding shall be consistent with other public charter school funding.
When enrolling a student who may require special education services, the same obligations apply to a virtual public charter school as applies to all other public charter schools. Enrollment shall not be denied or delayed on the basis of a disability and the charter school shall convene an Individualized Education Program (IEP) meeting after admission to ensure that the school develops an appropriate IEP in accordance with all of the requirements set forth in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
The governing body of a virtual public charter school shall undergo at least one training per year related to appropriate oversight of the virtual public charter school.
Each virtual charter school in the state shall offer a student orientation, notify the parents and guardians 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.
Virtual charter schools must provide, in a manner agreed to in the charter contract, data demonstrating student progress toward graduation. Measurement of such progress shall account for specific characteristics of each enrolled student, including but not limited to age and course credit accrued prior to enrollment in educational instruction and course content that are delivered primarily over the internet pursuant to enrollment, and shall be consistent with evidence-based best practices. Virtual charter schools shall also maintain clear requirements relating to student engagement and teacher responsiveness for virtual charter school students and teachers.
Each virtual charter school shall develop and adopt a policy regarding failure to participate in instructional activities. The policy shall state that a student shall become subject to certain consequences, including disenrollment from the school, if both the following conditions are satisfied: (i) After the student’s parent, guardian, or custodian receives a written report, the student fails to comply with the policy adopted under the paragraph within a reasonable period of time specified by the school; and (ii) Other intervention strategies contained in the policy adopted under the paragraph fail to cause a student to consistently participate in instructional activities. If a virtual charter school disenrolls a student pursuant to a policy adopted under this paragraph, the student shall be transferred to the district of residence and shall not be eligible to enroll in that virtual charter school or another virtual charter school for one school year from the date of the student’s disenrollment.
Are there provisions for full-time virtual charter schools?
Wisconsin law does not contain any of the model law’s provisions regarding full-time virtual charter schools.
Are there provisions for full-time virtual charter schools?
In the case of a proposed charter school that plans to establish a full-time virtual charter school, the application shall additionally require the applicant to provide a description regarding the methods by which the charter school will:
• Ensure adequate supports are available to the students in their homes or regions, including parent teacher conferences and interactions;
• Monitor student outcomes and administer state required assessments to all students in a proctored setting;
• Establish and implement legally permissible criteria and processes for enrollment based on the existence of supports needed for student success;
• Provide the desired enrollment level of the school for each year of the charter contract, not to exceed 250 students in any given year, with any increases in enrollment from one year to the next based on whether the school meets its performance requirements;
• Provide a detailed budget for the school and propose a funding level per student for the school that is based upon that budget;
• Provide data for oversight, funding, renewal and closure decisions for full-time virtual charter school specific goals regarding student enrollment, attendance, engagement, achievement, truancy and attrition that demonstrates the school meets agreed upon benchmarks;
• Provide that no more than twenty percent of its enrollment shall be from outside of the school district where the charter school is located without prior approval of the state loan and investment board.