Bill Text: AZ HB2039 | 2022 | Fifty-fifth Legislature 2nd Regular | Engrossed


Bill Title: Live, remote instruction; dual enrollment

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2022-03-29 - Senate APPROP Committee action: do pass amended/strike-everything, voting: (10-0-0-0) [HB2039 Detail]

Download: Arizona-2022-HB2039-Engrossed.html

 

 

House Engrossed

 

live, remote instruction; dual enrollment

 

 

 

 

State of Arizona

House of Representatives

Fifty-fifth Legislature

Second Regular Session

2022

 

 

 

HOUSE BILL 2039

 

 

 

An Act

 

amending section 15-901.08, Arizona Revised Statutes; amending title 15, chapter 9, article 1, Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding section 15-901.09; amending sections 15-1427 and 15-1821.01, Arizona Revised Statutes; appropriating monies; relating to school instruction.

 

 

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

 


Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Section 15-901.08, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE15-901.08. School year; school month; instructional time models; requirements; funding; definition

A. Except as may be otherwise authorized by the superintendent of public instruction to accommodate a year-round school operation or as otherwise prescribed under an instructional time model adopted pursuant to this section, the school year begins July 1 and ends June 30, and a school month is twenty school days or four weeks of five days each.

B. Notwithstanding any other law, for the purposes of meeting the instructional time and instructional hours requirements prescribed in sections 15-808 and 15-901, a school district governing board, after at least two public hearings in the school district, or a charter school governing body for one or more schools may adopt any instructional time models as prescribed in this section to meet the minimum annual instructional time and instructional hours requirements prescribed in sections 15-808 and 15-901 for all of the following purposes:

1. Determining average daily membership.

2. Determining daily attendance.

3. Determining student count.

4. Any other purpose relating to instructional time or instructional hours prescribed in section 15-808 or 15-901.

C. Notwithstanding any other law, all of the following apply to an instructional time model adopted by a school district governing board or charter school governing body for one or more schools pursuant to this section:

1. Students shall receive the minimum instructional time or instructional hours required under section 15-808 or 15-901, as applicable, for the full school year in any day, week and course length increments adopted by the school district governing board or charter school governing body.

2. A school may deliver the annual required instructional time or instructional hours to students through any combination of the following:

(a) Direct instruction.

(b) Project-based learning.

(c) Independent learning.

(d) Mastery-based learning, which may be delivered in a blended classroom serving multiple grade levels or providing blended grade level content.

3. A school may define instructional time and instructional hours to include any combination of the following:

(a) In-person instruction.

(b) Remote instruction, subject to all of the following:

(i) During school year 2021-2022, a school may provide up to fifty percent of its total instructional time in a remote setting without any impact to the school's funding.  Beginning in school year 2022-2023 and each school year thereafter, a school may provide up to forty percent of its total instructional time in a remote setting without any impact to the school's funding.  The threshold prescribed in this item does not apply to live, remote instruction courses offered pursuant to section 15-901.09.

(ii) If a school provides instructional time in a remote setting beyond the threshold prescribed in item (i) of this subdivision in any school year, the department of education shall calculate funding as prescribed in subsection D of this section.

(iii) The department of education shall annually provide a list of schools that provide more than the allowed instructional time in a remote setting to the state board of education.  The state board of education shall determine whether the school must apply to become an online school under section 15-808.

(iv) The department of education shall annually provide a list of charter schools that provide more than the allowed instructional time in a remote setting to the state board for charter schools.  The state board for charter schools shall determine whether the charter school must apply to become an online school under section 15-808.

(c) Live, remote instruction pursuant to section 15-901.09.

4. A school may reallocate any minimum instructional time or instructional hours per course required under section 15-808 or 15-901 or any other statute to other courses on a per-student basis so that students are able to spend more of their required instructional time or instructional hours on courses of greater depth or courses that require additional learning time to catch up to grade level or to stay on pace.

5. A school may stagger learning times and schedules for students and may offer courses and other instructional time options on the weekend or in the evenings so that all students are not expected to attend or complete their school day or instructional time at the same time.

6. A school shall align its attendance policies to reflect the instructional time and instructional hours policies prescribed under the adopted instructional time model.

D. If a school provides remote instructional time beyond the threshold prescribed in subsection C, paragraph 3, subdivision (b), item (i) of this section in any school year, the department of education shall calculate funding as follows:

1. Calculate the total percentage of instructional time provided by the school in a remote setting.

2. Subtract the allowable threshold prescribed in subsection C, paragraph 3, subdivision (b), item (i) of this section from the amount calculated pursuant to paragraph 1 of this subsection.

3. Fund the percentage of the base support level equal to the percentage calculated in paragraph 2 of this subsection at ninety-five percent of the base support level that would otherwise be calculated for the school.

E. For the purposes of this section, "mastery-based learning" means a system in which students advance to higher levels of learning when they demonstrate mastery of concepts and skills regardless of time, place or pace. END_STATUTE

Sec. 2. Title 15, chapter 9, article 1, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 15-901.09, to read:

START_STATUTE15-901.09. Live, remote instruction courses

A. A school district or charter school may offer a course or courses for students in kindergarten programs or grades one through twelve in which the instructional services are provided remotely in a live and synchronous setting by another school district or charter school in this state pursuant to a written agreement.  A school district or charter school that offers live, remote instruction courses shall provide an in-person teacher or instructional aide for each course and ensure that students enrolled in live, remote instruction courses satisfy the instructional time and instructional hours requirements prescribed in section 15-901. Any written agreement between school districts or charter schools to provide live, remote instruction courses must specify that the school district or charter school acting as the instructional services provider shall pay the instructor of the course a stipend in an amount of at least twenty-five percent of the contractual amount of per-course, per-student monies.

B. The school district or charter school providing the moderated classroom generates average daily membership for students enrolled in live, remote instruction courses as prescribed in section 15-901. The school district or charter school acting as the instructional services provider may not generate average daily membership for students attending a live, remote instruction course.  The school district or charter school providing the moderated classroom for live, remote instruction courses and generating average daily membership shall provide administrative control of students enrolled in live, remote instruction courses, including recording a student's participation in a live, remote instruction course on the student's transcript and tracking progress for graduation requirements. END_STATUTE

Sec. 3. Heading change

The article heading of title 15, chapter 12, article 2, Arizona Revised Statutes, is changed from "State Board of Directors for Community Colleges" to "Community College District Annual Reports".

Sec. 4. Section 15-1427, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE15-1427. Annual report

A. By On or before December 1 of each year, each community college district shall make a report for the preceding fiscal year to the governor, the president of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives and the joint legislative budget committee and shall provide a copy of this report to the secretary of state.

B. The report shall contain the following information regarding the operation of the district:

1. The state of progress of the community colleges operated under this chapter.

2. The courses of study included in the curricula.

3. The number of professors and other instructional staff members employed.

4. The number of students registered and attending classes.

5. The number of full-time equivalent students enrolled during the year.

6. The total number of students not residing in the district, disaggregated by the county of residence for nonresident students who reside in this state and by the state of residence for nonresident students who reside in another state.

7. The amount of receipts and expenditures.

8. A general description of tuition and fees charged for credit courses.

9. A general description of tuition and fees charged for noncredit courses.

10. Such other information as the governor and the joint legislative budget committee deem proper.

C. In each odd-numbered calendar year, the report shall also contain the following information regarding dual enrollment programs operated pursuant to section 15-1821.01:

1. Documentation of compliance with the requirements prescribed in section 15-1821.01, subsection A, paragraphs 3, 4 and 5, including a list of the members of the faculty advisory committees of each community college.

2. Total enrollments listed by location, by high school grade level and by course.

3. A copy of each addendum to intergovernmental agreements or contracts executed pursuant to section 15-1821.01, subsection A, paragraph 1.

4. Summary data by community college district and by individual community colleges on the number of scholarships or grants awarded to students.

5. Such other information as the governor and the joint legislative budget committee deem proper. END_STATUTE

Sec. 5. Section 15-1821.01, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE15-1821.01. Dual enrollment information; tuition; Arizona dual enrollment fund

A. On a determination by a community college district governing board that it is in the best interest of the citizens of a district, the district governing board may authorize district community colleges to offer college courses that may be counted toward both high school and college graduation requirements at the high school during the school day, subject to the following:

1. The community college district governing board and the governing board of the school district or organization of which the high school is a part shall enter into an agreement or contract. These intergovernmental agreements or contracts shall be based on a uniform format that has been cooperatively developed by the community college districts in this state.  Each of these agreements or contracts shall clearly specify the following:

(a) The financial provisions of the agreement or contract and the format for billing all services under the agreement or contract, including the amount that the community college received in full-time student equivalent funding pursuant to section 15-1466.01, the portion of the funding that is distributed to the school district governing board or charter school and any amount that is subsequently returned to the community college district by the school district governing board or charter school.

(b) Student tuition and financial aid policies, including whether scholarships or grants are awarded to students in dual enrollment courses from the community college.

(c) The accountability provisions for each party to the agreement or contract.

(d) The responsibilities and services required of each party to the agreement or contract.

(e) The type of instruction that will be provided under the agreement or contract, including the titles of the courses to be offered.

(f) The quality of the instruction that will be provided under the agreement or contract.

2. Students shall be admitted to the community college under the policies adopted by each district, except that all students who are enrolled for college credit shall be high school freshmen, sophomores, juniors or seniors. All students who are in the course, including those not electing to enroll for college credit, shall satisfy the prerequisites for the course as published in the college catalog and shall comply with college policies regarding student placement in courses.

3. The courses shall be previously evaluated and approved through the curriculum approval process of the district, shall be at a higher level than taught by the high school and shall be transferable to a university under the jurisdiction of the Arizona board of regents or be applicable to an established community college occupational degree or certificate program. Physical education courses are not available for dual enrollment purposes.

4. College-approved textbooks, syllabuses, course outlines and grading standards that are applicable to the courses if taught at the community college shall apply to these courses and to all students in the courses offered pursuant to this section subsection. The chief executive officer of each community college shall establish an advisory committee of full-time faculty who teach in the disciplines offered at the community college to assist in course selection and implementation in the high schools and to review and report at least annually to the chief executive officer whether the course goals and standards are understood, the course guidelines are followed and the same standards of expectation and assessment are applied to these courses as though they were being offered at the community college. The advisory committee of full-time faculty shall meet at least three times each academic year.

5. Each faculty member shall meet the requirements established by the governing board pursuant to section 15-1444. The chief executive officer of each community college district shall establish an advisory committee of full-time faculty who teach in the disciplines offered at the community college district to assist in the selection, orientation, ongoing professional development and evaluation of faculty who are teaching college courses in conjunction with the high schools. The advisory committee of full-time faculty shall meet at least two times each academic year.

6. A school district shall ensure that a pupil is a full-time student as defined in section 15-901 and is enrolled in and attending a full-time instructional program at a school in the school district before that pupil is allowed to enroll in a college course pursuant to this section subsection, except that high school seniors who satisfy high school graduation requirements with less than a full-time instructional program are exempt from this paragraph.

7. Notwithstanding paragraph 6 of this section subsection, homeschooled students may fully participate in dual enrollment, including receipt of college credit pursuant to this section subsection.

B. Notwithstanding section 15-1445, paragraph 3 and except as prescribed in subsection C of this section, a community college district governing board may not fix tuition in an amount that exceeds $125 per dual enrollment course per student, including any mandatory course fee, for any of the following dual enrollment courses:

1. Any course that fulfills a lower division general education credit at a university under the jurisdiction of the Arizona board of regents or a community college as defined in section 15-1401.

2. Any science, technology, engineering or mathematics course.

3. Any career and technical education course that is required for a program that results in a certificate, credential or license.

C. A community college district governing board may not fix tuition in an amount that exceeds $25 per dual enrollment course per student, including any mandatory course fee, for any dual enrollment course described in subsection B of this section for a student whose family income does not exceed one hundred eighty-five percent of the income limit required to qualify a child for reduced-price lunches under the national school lunch and child nutrition acts (42 United States Code sections 1751 through 1793). A school district or charter school offering dual enrollment courses may report to the department of education in a manner prescribed by the department the students who are eligible for and paid the reduced tuition rate prescribed in this subsection for a dual enrollment course described in subsection B of this section and who are enrolled in the dual enrollment course on the fortieth day of the course.  The department of education shall allocate $100 per eligible student to the community college district from the Arizona dual enrollment fund established by subsection D of this section. 

D. The Arizona dual enrollment fund is established consisting of legislative appropriations.  The department of education shall administer the fund.  Monies in the fund are continuously appropriated and are exempt from the provisions of section 35-190 relating to lapsing of appropriations. END_STATUTE

Sec. 6. Appropriation; Arizona dual enrollment fund

The sum of $500,000 is appropriated from the state general fund in fiscal year 2022-2023 to the Arizona dual enrollment fund established by section 15-1821.01, subsection D, Arizona Revised Statutes, as added by this act.

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