Bill Text: NY A07846 | 2013-2014 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Directs the commissioner of education to establish an online learning committee to make recommendations for establishment of a statewide online and blended learning program.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-01-15 - enacting clause stricken [A07846 Detail]
Download: New_York-2013-A07846-Amended.html
S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K ________________________________________________________________________ 7846--A 2013-2014 Regular Sessions I N A S S E M B L Y June 6, 2013 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. GABRYSZAK -- read once and referred to the Committee on Education -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to direct the commissioner of education to establish an online learning advisory committee to make recommendations on establishing a statewide online and blended learning program THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM- BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: 1 Section 1. Legislative intent. The legislature recognizes that there 2 is a demonstrated need to reevaluate the delivery of education in New 3 York state in light of educational advancements and a more technolog- 4 ically driven economy. In light of academic discrepancies for those in 5 the most rural and underrepresented areas within the state as well as 6 the unstable economic times, we believe that there is a need to advance 7 emerging technologies and the potential for implementation of a state- 8 wide online and blended learning program. This will provide an opportu- 9 nity to highlight the state's most successful programs and make them 10 universally accessible. A statewide online and blended learning program 11 will not only have the potential to provide equal educational opportu- 12 nities to the most remote areas of the state, but help all students as 13 they transition into a competitive marketplace. 14 S 2. The commissioner of education, in consultation with the New York 15 state broadband program office of the empire state development corpo- 16 ration, the New York state energy research and development authority and 17 the public service commission, shall establish an online learning advi- 18 sory committee which shall develop recommendations for establishment of 19 a statewide online and blended learning program. Such advisory committee 20 shall be composed of 12 members appointed by the commissioner of educa- 21 tion. Provided that of such 12 members: three members shall be 22 appointed upon the recommendation of the governor, three members shall 23 be appointed upon the recommendation of the temporary president of the EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD10800-05-3 A. 7846--A 2 1 senate, three members shall be appointed upon the recommendation of the 2 speaker of the assembly, and the remaining members shall be appointed in 3 the sole discretion of the commissioner of education. The members of the 4 committee shall have demonstrated experience with or expertise in one of 5 the following areas: private or public online providers, accreditation 6 of programming, boards of cooperative educational services, school 7 administration, educational delivery in a rural setting, existing online 8 and blended learning program development, institutions of higher educa- 9 tion, or as a teacher certified pursuant to article 61 of the education 10 law. The recommendations of the advisory committee shall include, but 11 not be limited to: 12 (a) definitions of online and blended learning; 13 (b) connecting modules throughout the state in order to create a 14 statewide online and blended learning system including, but not limited 15 to, remote and rural school districts; 16 (c) model school district policies, as well as model agreements to be 17 used by school districts in implementation of an online and blended 18 learning program including, but not limited to, agreements that address 19 billing, fees, responsibilities of online course providers and school 20 districts; 21 (d) best practices from throughout the state that can be modeled and 22 replicated; 23 (e) implementation guidelines and policies for schools without online 24 and blended learning programs; 25 (f) state and federal funding opportunities for online and blended 26 learning programs, as well as a review of state aid to online and blend- 27 ed learning programs; 28 (g) regulatory review and development of new regulations pertaining to 29 online and blended learning programs; 30 (h) content and course evaluation; 31 (i) identifiable academic programming suited for online and blended 32 learning that have been eliminated from course offerings within the past 33 five years including, but not limited to, foreign language courses, 34 technology classes, art and music, and career and college ready 35 programs; 36 (j) partnerships with institutions of higher education for workforce 37 opportunities using online and blended learning; 38 (k) teaching and professional development requirements including 39 recommendations regarding licensure, and compliance with current state 40 laws; 41 (l) technology support, including but not limited to, technological 42 delivery and broadband access to remote and underrepresented geographic 43 areas; 44 (m) quality assessment and licensing of online providers; 45 (n) operational and administrative support guidelines; 46 (o) addressing barriers to the implementation of online and blended 47 learning programs; and 48 (p) local school district flexibility including recommendations for 49 compliance with seat-time and graduation requirements. 50 S 3. The members of the advisory committee shall receive no compen- 51 sation for their services, but shall be allowed their actual and neces- 52 sary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties pursuant to 53 this act. 54 S 4. The advisory committee shall convene on or before August 1, 2013 55 to develop its recommendations. On or before January 1, 2014, the 56 committee shall submit a preliminary report of its recommendations for A. 7846--A 3 1 consideration in the executive budget for the 2014-2015 state fiscal 2 year, and, on or before October 1, 2014, shall submit a final report of 3 its recommendations to the governor, the temporary president of the 4 senate, the speaker of the assembly and the chairs of the legislative 5 commission on the development of rural resources. 6 S 5. This act shall take effect immediately.