Bill Text: CA AB853 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Sharks.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Passed) 2011-10-07 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 525, Statutes of 2011. [AB853 Detail]

Download: California-2011-AB853-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: AB 853	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  JUNE 20, 2011

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Blumenfield
    (   Coauthors:   Assembly Members 
 Beall,   Cook,   and Garrick   )


                        FEBRUARY 17, 2011

    An act to amend Sections 68074 and 68075 of the Education
Code, relating to public postsecondary education.   An
act to add and repeal Section 46300.8 of the Education Code, relating
to online education. 


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 853, as amended, Blumenfield.  Public postsecondary
education: tuition and fees: veterans.   Online
education: school attendance.  
   Existing law establishes the public elementary and secondary
school system in this state, and further establishes a funding system
pursuant to which the state apportions funds to local educational
agencies based on, among other factors, the average daily attendance
of pupils at the schools operated by those agencies. Numerous
statutes and regulations govern the calculation and reporting of
average daily attendance.  
   This bill, commencing with the 2013-14 fiscal year, would provide
that school districts, county offices of education, and charter
schools that offer online education courses may claim attendance
toward average daily attendance on the basis of a pupil's attendance
in an online course or courses that satisfy prescribed criteria.
 
   The bill would require the Superintendent of Public Instruction,
in consultation with the Controller and Director of Finance, on or
before December 31, 2012, to make revisions to any attendance
accounting manual or guidance provided to school districts, county
offices of education, or charter schools that are necessary to
conform to these provisions, or to clarify these provisions with
respect to attendance accounting procedures for asynchronous online
courses, as defined. The bill additionally would require the
Superintendent, in consultation with the Director of Finance, to
adopt rules and regulations for the purposes of clarifying or
expanding the procedures required for verifying the identification of
pupils participating in asynchronous online courses and including
pupil attendance in asynchronous online education courses in the
calculation of average daily attendance.  
   The bill would make all of these provisions inoperative on July 1,
2017, and repeal them on January 1, 2018.  
   Existing law establishes uniform student residency requirements
for purposes of ascertaining the amount of fees to be paid by
students at public institutions of higher education in the state.
Existing law entitles an undergraduate student who is a dependent of
a member of the Armed Forces of the United States stationed in this
state on active duty to resident classification for purposes of
determining the amount of tuition and fees. Existing law entitles a
graduate student, under the same circumstances, to resident
classification for no more than one academic year, after which he or
she is subject to the general provisions otherwise establishing
student residency requirements.  
   Existing law allows a student dependent of a member of the Armed
Forces to keep his or her resident classification until he or she has
resided in the state for the minimum time necessary to become a
resident in the event the member of the Armed Forces upon whom they
are dependent is transferred outside of the state or retires as an
active member of the Armed Forces.  
   Existing law also grants a member of the Armed Forces who is
stationed in the state on active duty, except a member assigned for
educational purposes to a state-supported institution of higher
education, to resident classification for tuition purposes. A member
of the Armed Forces seeking a graduate degree is entitled to resident
classification for no more than 2 academic years.  

   Federal law prohibits a state receiving federal assistance under
the Higher Education Opportunity Act from charging a higher rate for
attendance at a public institution of higher education than is
charged to residents of the state to a member of the Armed Forces who
is on active duty for more than 30 days and whose domicile or
permanent duty station is in the state, or to his or her spouse or
dependent child. Existing federal law requires that the rate continue
to apply so long as the member or his or her spouse or dependent
child is continuously enrolled at the institution, notwithstanding a
subsequent change in the permanent duty station of the member to a
location outside of the state.  
   This bill would amend state law to conform with federal law
granting a member of the Armed Forces, or his or her dependent, as
provided, entitlement to resident classification for so long as he or
she is continuously enrolled at that institution.  

   The bill would request the Regents of the University of California
to establish the same residency requirements as those established by
this bill for students enrolled at the University of California.

   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  no
  yes  . State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   SECTION 1.    Section 46300.8 is added to the 
 Education Code   , to read:  
   46300.8.  (a) Commencing with the 2013-14 fiscal year, a school
district, county office of education, or charter school may claim
attendance toward average daily attendance, for the purposes of
calculating average daily attendance pursuant to Section 46300, on
the basis of a pupil's attendance in an online course or courses if
all of the following apply:
   (1) The pupil is enrolled in grade 9, 10, 11, or 12.
   (2) The pupil is enrolled in classes that include courses in a
classroom-based setting, courses that are offered through an online
program, or both.
   (3) The pupil meets minimum instructional time requirements
pursuant to:
   (A) Section 46141 and Section 46201, 46201.5, or 46202, as
applicable, for pupils enrolled in a noncharter school in a school
district or county office of education.
   (B) Section 46170, for pupils enrolled in a continuation school.
   (C) Section 46180, for pupils enrolled in an opportunity school.
   (D) Subdivision (e) of Section 47612.5, for pupils enrolled in a
charter school.
   (4) Each online course in which the pupil is enrolled is a
high-quality online course.
   (b) For the purposes of this section, a "high-quality online
course" is defined as an online course that meets all of the
following requirements:
   (1) The online course is approved by the governing board of the
school district or county office of education, or by the governing
body of the charter school.
   (2) The online course is certified to meet these requirements,
through board resolution, by the governing board of the school
district or county office of education, or by the governing body of
the charter school.
   (3) The online course is certified by the governing board of the
school district or county office of education, or by the governing
body of the charter school, as being as rigorous as a classroom-based
course and meeting or exceeding all relevant state content
standards.
   (4) Either of the following:
   (A) The teacher is online at the same time as each pupil, is
accessible to each pupil attending the synchronous online course to
respond to pupil queries, assign tasks, and dispense information, and
is able to make a visual connection with each pupil for the purposes
of verifying attendance or providing immediate supervision of the
pupil.
   (B) The teacher may be online at different times than each pupil,
is accessible to each pupil attending the asynchronous online course
to respond to pupil queries, assign tasks, and dispense information,
and, for the purposes of verifying attendance, is able to employ at
least one of the following:
   (i) Periodic proctored examinations.
   (ii) Direct teacher-pupil meetings no less than twice per calendar
month.
   (iii) A visual connection including, but not limited to, Internet
Webcam.
   (5) (A) The ratio of pupils enrolled in that course to full-time
equivalent certificated teachers teaching the online course is less
than or equal to the ratio of pupils to teachers in traditional
classroom study of the same subject matter in the school, school
district, or the unified school district with the largest average
daily attendance of pupils in that county for the prior school year,
as reported on the Internet Web site of the department.
   (B) If the online course is new or deemed by the governing board
of the school district or county office of education, or by the
governing body of the charter school, to be unique to the online
setting, the ratio of pupils enrolled in that course to full-time
equivalent teachers teaching the online course shall not exceed 30 to
1.
   (6) When a traditional classroom-based course of the same course
title exists within the school district, county office of education,
or charter school, the subject matter content of the online course is
the same as for the traditional classroom-based course.
   (7) The teacher of the online course holds the appropriate subject
matter credential and meets the requirements for a highly qualified
teacher pursuant to the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (20
U.S.C. Sec. 6301 et seq.).
   (8) Statewide testing results for online pupils are reported and
assigned to the school in which the pupil is enrolled for regular
classroom courses, and to any school district or county within which
that school's testing results are aggregated.
   (9) The online course is offered by a high school, continuation
school, county office of education, or charter school offering
instruction in any of grades 9 to 12, inclusive.
   (10) No pupil is assigned to the online course unless the pupil
voluntarily elects to participate in the online course and the parent
or guardian of the pupil provides written consent before the pupil
participates in the online course.
   (11) No pupil voluntarily electing to participate in the online
course is denied access because the pupil lacks the computer hardware
or software necessary to participate in the online course.
   (12) No pupil is charged for his or her participation in the
online course.
   (13) Pupils enrolled in the online course take examinations by
proctor or other reliable methods are used to ensure test integrity,
and there is a clear record of pupil work, using the same method of
documentation and assessment as used in a classroom-based course.
   (14) Contemporaneous records of the time that a pupil spends
online in the course and in related activities, and of the time the
teacher is online with pupils, are maintained by the school district,
county office of education, or charter school.
   (c) Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to mean that a
charter school provides classroom-based or nonclassroom-based
instruction for the purposes of the state board determination made
pursuant to Section 47612.5.
   (d) Attendance accounted for pursuant to subdivision (a) and
compliance with the requirements of subdivision (b) are subject to
the audit conducted pursuant to Section 41020.
   (e) A pupil shall not be credited with more than five days of
course attendance per calendar week or more than the total number of
calendar days that regular classes are maintained by the school
district, county office of education, or charter school during the
fiscal year.
   (f) The Superintendent, in consultation with the Controller and
the Director of Finance, on or before December 31, 2012, shall do all
of the following:
   (1) Make revisions to any attendance accounting manual or guidance
provided to a school district, county office of education, or
charter school that are necessary to conform to this section.
   (2) Make revisions to any attendance accounting manual or guidance
provided to local educational agencies that are necessary to clarify
attendance accounting procedures for asynchronous online courses.
   (3) Make recommendations to the appropriate policy and fiscal
committees in both houses of the Legislature and to the Governor
regarding statutory changes that would be necessary to allow pupil
attendance in asynchronous online courses to be included in the
calculation of average daily attendance pursuant to Section 46300.
   (g) Pupil attendance in asynchronous online courses shall not be
included in the calculation of average daily attendance pursuant to
Section 46300 until the Superintendent has adopted rules and
regulations pursuant to subdivision (k).
   (h) For the purposes of calculating average daily attendance
pursuant to Section 46300 and meeting the minimum instructional time
requirements specified in paragraph (3) of subdivision (a):
   (1) A pupil enrolled in a noncharter school and engaged in
educational activities in an online course meeting the requirements
of subdivisions (a) and (b) shall be deemed to be under the immediate
supervision and control of an employee of the district or county
office who possesses a valid certification document, registered as
required by law.
   (2) A pupil enrolled in a charter school and engaged in
educational activities in an online course meeting the requirements
of subdivisions (a) and (b) shall be deemed to be attending at the
schoolsite of the charter school.
   (i) For the purposes of calculating average daily attendance
pursuant to Section 46300, a school district, county office of
education, or charter school claiming pupil attendance in an online
course meeting the requirements of subdivision (b) shall not be
required to meet the requirements of Article 5.5 (commencing with
Section 51745) of Chapter 5 of Part 28.
   (j) For the purposes of this section, the following definitions
apply:
   (1) "Asynchronous online course" means a course where the teacher
and pupil may be online at different times and are unable to interact
simultaneously.
   (2) "Synchronous online course" means a course where the teacher
and pupil are online at the same time and able to interact at that
time.
   (k) The Superintendent, in consultation with the Department of
Finance, shall adopt rules and regulations, pursuant to the
rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter
3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title
2 of the Government Code), for both of the following purposes:
   (1) Clarifying or expanding the procedures required for verifying
the identification of pupils participating in asynchronous online
courses meeting all of the requirements of subdivisions (a) and (b).
   (2) Including pupil attendance in asynchronous online courses in
the calculation of average daily attendance pursuant to Section
46300. The Superintendent shall ensure that the rules and regulations
adopted for this purpose are consistent with the revisions and
recommendations required pursuant to subdivision (f).
   (l) No provision of this section shall be waived unless the waiver
is specifically authorized in statute.
   (m) This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2017, and, as
of January 1, 2018, is repealed, unless a later enacted statute,
that becomes operative on or before January 1, 2018, deletes or
extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed.
 
  SECTION 1.    Section 68074 of the Education Code
is amended to read:
   68074.  (a) A student who is a natural or adopted child,
stepchild, or spouse who is a dependent of a member of the Armed
Forces of the United States stationed in this state on active duty is
entitled to resident classification only for the purpose of
determining the amount of tuition and fees.
   (b) If that member of the Armed Forces of the United States, whose
dependent natural or adopted child, stepchild, or spouse is in
attendance at an institution, (1) is thereafter transferred on
military orders to a place outside this state where the member
continues to serve in the Armed Forces of the United States, or (2)
is thereafter retired as an active member of the Armed Forces of the
United States, the student dependent shall not lose his or her
resident classification so long as he or she remains continuously
enrolled at that institution.  
  SEC. 2.    Section 68075 of the Education Code is
amended to read:
   68075.  (a) A student who is a member of the Armed Forces of the
United States stationed in this state on active duty, except a member
of the Armed Forces assigned for educational purposes to a
state-supported institution of higher education, is entitled to
resident classification only for the purpose of determining the
amount of tuition and fees.
   (b) If that member of the Armed Forces of the United States who is
in attendance at an institution is thereafter transferred on
military orders to a place outside this state where the member
continues to serve in the Armed Forces of the United States, he or
she shall not lose his or her resident classification so long as he
or she remains continuously enrolled at that institution. 

  SEC. 3.    The Legislature hereby requests the
Regents of the University of California to establish the same
residency classifications for students enrolled at the University of
California as those enacted by this act.