RD376 - 2011 Status Report Regarding Multidivision Online Learning - December 7, 2011


Executive Summary:
In 2010, the Virginia General Assembly passed legislation, introduced by Governor Robert F. McDonnell, authorizing the establishment of virtual school programs (see full report, Appendix A). The legislation required the Superintendent of Public Instruction to develop and the Virginia Board of Education to approve criteria for approving, monitoring, and, if necessary, revoking the contracts of multidivision providers of online courses and virtual school programs. It stipulated that the courses or programs must meet certain requirements with regard to accreditation and staffing and that the educational objectives and assessments meet or exceed the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) and Standards of Accreditation.

The bill allowed local school boards to enter into contracts with approved providers to offer such courses and programs. As guidance to these boards, the Superintendent of Public Instruction developed model policies and procedures pertaining to student access. In addition, the legislation required the Virginia Department of Education to develop a Web site containing relevant information, including course content, registration information, teacher qualifications, and completion rates. The local boards posted information on their Web sites to enable visitors to understand and compare various options for learners, including the types of online courses and programs available, conditions under which the division will pay course fees and other costs for nonresident students, and criteria for granting high school credit.

During the past year, the Department of Education produced and implemented the multidivision online provider application process, including the development of "Criteria for Approval of Multidivision Online Providers" and the application, appeal, and monitoring process (see full report, Appendix B). The application window was open for 30 days, beginning on February 1, 2011. During that time, 14 organizations submitted applications and course correlation documents. After a thorough review, 13 of these organizations were approved to offer online instruction as multidivision online providers. For the one rejected application, review teams noted significant deficiencies in policy, pupil performance standards, Section 508 compliance, teacher licensure requirements, and correlation to the SOL.

Authority for the Report

The 2010 legislation amended § 22.1-212.25.C of the Code of Virginia to require the following: “Beginning November 1, 2011, and annually thereafter, the Board of Education shall include in its annual report to the Governor and the General Assembly information regarding multidivision online learning during the previous school year. The information shall include but not be limited to student demographics, course enrollment data, parental satisfaction, aggregated student course completion and passing rates, and activities and outcomes of course and provider approval reviews. The November 1, 2011, report shall be an interim progress report and include information on the criteria and processes adopted by the Board and outcomes of provider applications.”

Activities during the Reporting Period

The following is a list of relevant activities that occurred between April 2010 And November 1, 2011:

• Teams at the Virginia Department of Education developed the multidivision online provider application process, including the "Criteria for Approval of Multidivision Online Providers" and the application, appeal, and monitoring processes.

• Public meetings were held with school divisions and online providers to share information and receive feedback on the application process.

• The Board of Education approved the final criteria and application documents on November 18, 2010.

• The Department of Education launched a Web site to provide information and documents for multidivision online providers regarding the application process:
http://www.doe.virginia.gov/instruction/virtual_learning/virtual_schools/providers/index.shtml.

• The application window was open for 30 days, beginning on February 1, 2011. Applications were received from 14 organizations.

• Applications were subjected to an extensive review by policy, instruction, special education, information management, technology, and finance teams in the Department of Education.

• Thirteen organizations were initially approved to offer online instruction, contingent upon the submission of additional information in the areas of teacher licensure, Section 508 compliance, and data reporting. A summary of approved providers appears later in this report.

• Of the 385 courses reviewed for correlation to the SOL, 274 were approved during the initial application period. Providers are in the process of revising and resubmitting the 111 courses that were not initially approved.

• The Department of Education developed model policies and procedures and shared these with local school divisions via the Web:
http://www.doe.virginia.gov/instruction/virtual_learning/virtual_schools/divisions/index.shtml. These documents provide guidance on entering into contracts with multidivision online providers.

• The Department of Education developed and posted online a "Frequently Asked Questions" document to answer questions about multidivision online providers, including definitions, tuition issues, and reporting requirements.

• The Department of Education posted information about the providers and their course offerings on its Web site: https://p1pe.doe.virginia.gov/amop_public/.

• The Department of Education collected information from the providers regarding any contracts they currently have in place with Virginia public school divisions.

Data Collection and Monitoring

Beginning with the 2011-12 school years, students participating in approved virtual courses will be flagged within the Student Record Collection (SRC), which contains more than 100 demographic, funding, and program participation elements for each student in the Commonwealth. It is collected three times a year to correspond with fall membership, March 31 average daily membership, and the last day of school. Once students are enrolled in a virtual course, the Department of Education can then provide the following information via the State Testing Identifier (STI):

• Assessment data, including Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)-type pass rates

• Cohort graduation data, including on-time graduation rates and cohort drop-out rates

• Course enrollment and completion data from the Master Schedule Collection

• Career and technical education reports, including industry credential reports

• Funding summaries

Surveys of school divisions will provide additional information about contractual issues with multidivision online providers. During the course of the academic year, Department of Education review teams or school division representatives may review courses, providers, and policies to verify that the programs comply with all state and federal laws and regulations. If the Department of Education believes there is a cause for concern, more extensive reviews will be conducted.

Issues and Challenges

During the implementation, several challenges emerged:
• Some of the providers’ course names were not the same as those used in the SOL; for example, a provider’s World Literature II course was comparable to the English Grade 10 SOL. In addition, the providers were allowed to offer elective courses that did not correlate to any standard, which also caused confusion; for example, one provider’s Algebra I course correlated with the SOL, while another’s elective Algebra I course did not fully correlate.

• Multidivision online providers were allowed to revise and resubmit course correlation documentation at any time after the application window closed. This decision was made because of logistical challenges related to the tight deadline and to ensure the highest quality submissions. This resulted, however, in a continuous review of provider content.

• The Department of Education originally required multidivision online providers to provide teacher and administrator licensure information at the time of application; however, the providers would not employ and assign teachers until enough students had registered for the courses. As a result, the rule was revised, allowing providers to submit teacher credentials once they were confident that the course had sufficient enrollment to be offered.

• Providers and school divisions were confused about what constitutes a multidivision online provider as compared to a provider of online content taught by a local teacher. To address this problem, the Department of Education issued clarification and provided training to assist divisions in reporting data correctly.

• The definitions of “full-time” and “part-time” students need to be clarified. This issue has made it difficult to design data collection processes.

Summary of Approved Providers and Courses

Of the 14 applications received during the application window, 13 providers met the criteria for approval: Apex Learning; BYU Independent Study; CCPSOnline; CompuHigh, LLC; Connections Academy, LLC; Education2020, Inc.; EdOptions Online Academy; EdisonLearning, Inc.; Florida Virtual School; Giant Campus of Virginia; K-12 Virtual Schools, LLC; Virtual High School Global Consortium; and York County Public Schools. Jefferson High Online was not initially approved. Review teams noted significant deficiencies in policy, pupil performance standards, Section 508 compliance, teacher licensure requirements, and correlation to Virginia’s Standards of Learning. The approved providers offer 711 approved standards-based courses and nonstandards-based elective courses. The full report contains a listing of each provider and its approved courses.