Keeping Pace with K-12 Online Learning 2009 Is Proudly Sponsored By

2009 An Annual Review of State-Level Policy and Practice RESEARCH AND WRITING BY John Watson, Butch Gemin, Jennifer Ryan and Matthew Wicks Evergreen Education Group WRITING, EDITING AND GUIDANCE FROM Scott Bullock Wyoming Department of Education Jamey Fitzpatrick Michigan Virtual University Lisa Gillis Insight Schools, Inc. Todd Hitchcock Pearson Education Kate Loughrey Texas Education Agency Liz Pape Virtual High School Global Consortium Allison Powell International Association for K-12 Online Learning Mickey Revenaugh Connections Academy Andy Scantland Advanced Academics Julie Young Florida Virtual School 2009 ® An Annual Review of State-Level Policy and Practice NOVEMBER 2009 Acknowledgements FRONT MATTER Online learning continues to grow rapidly, and to evolve in new and different ways. Similarly, Keeping Pace has evolved over the years since the report first was conceived. Just as recalling the early days of online learning helps us to contemplate where it is going, remembering and acknowledging the people and organizations that had the foresight to support this research in its early days is worthwhile and appropriate as well. The firstKeeping Pace was published in 2004, in response to a request for timely online education policy information by the Colorado Department of Education (CDE). Stevan Kalmon, then of the CDE, was a strong advocate for the project, and helped with raising funds, writing, and guiding the concepts behind the study. The report was originally envisioned as a simple document that would be distributed only to the sponsoring organizations, but Cathy Gunn, then of the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory at Learning Point Associates, recognized the work’s larger value and was instrumental in suggesting and overseeing publication and distribution to a wider audience. The four funding organizations in the first year were the CDE, Illinois Virtual High School (IVHS), Learning Point Associates, and Wisconsin Virtual School. In 2004 Keeping Pace reviewed 22 states, and in 2005 expanded to review all 50 states. All subsequent years have continued this national approach. The expansion to review the entire country was largely in response to the vision of Matthew Wicks, then of IVHS. Although IVHS is no longer a sponsor of the report, we are fortunate that Matt has remained part of the Keeping Pace team. The cast of Keeping Pace sponsors has evolved every year, with the only common thread being that they are educational organizations that share an interest in online education and believe that it is important that current policy and practice information be available to practitioners and policymakers. Sponsors provide guidance and leadership in planning, research, analysis and writing. Keeping Pace benefits from the involvement of these experienced and knowledgeable online learning practitioners and their organizations: Todd Hitchcock Mickey Revenaugh Pearson Education Connections Academy Kate Loughrey Jamey Fitzpatrick Texas Education Agency Michigan Virtual University Scott Bullock Julie Young Wyoming Department of Education Florida Virtual School Liz Pape Andy Scantland Virtual High School Global Consortium Advanced Academics Allison Powell Lisa Gillis International Association for K-12 Online Learning Insight Schools In 2009 Keeping Pace is partnering with the Southern Regional Education Board for the first time, with the two organizations sharing program survey efforts and the resulting data. The goal of this partnership is two-fold: to reduce the effort that online programs invest in responding to surveys, and to share data and insights across both organizations. The educators and policymakers who gave their time to provide the information that is the basis for Keeping Pace are another set of key contributors to the report. We have been consistently surprised by the amount of time and quality of responses we receive from people around the country; this report would not be possible without their input. We have made every attempt to ensure accuracy of the information in Keeping Pace, but recognize that in a report of this breadth some errors of accuracy or omission are likely. We welcome comments, clarifications, and suggestions; please send them to [email protected]. APPENDIX STATE POLICY PROFILES PROGRAM PROFILES OUTLOOK & CONCLUSION NOTES FROM THE FIELD KEY ISSUES NATIONAL SNAPSHOT NOTES FROM THE FIELD KEY ISSUES NATIONAL & CONCLUSION POLICY PROFILES PROGRAM OUTLOOK APPENDIX STATE 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements 2 How to read this report 4 Definitions 5 National snapshot and the year in review 6 Key issues in online learning 16 Notes from the field 30 Outlook and conclusion 42 Program profiles 46 State policy profiles 56 Southeast 56 Northeast 80 Central 92 West 118 Appendix 147 KEEPING PACE WITH K – 12 ONLINE LEARNING | WWW.KPK12.COM 3 How to read this report FRONT MATTER A report as long Keeping Keeping Pace has several goals. First, it strives to add to the body of Pace can be intimidating, knowledge about online education policy and practice and make recommendations for advances. Second, it serves as a reference source leading the reader to for information about programs and policies across the country, both wonder, “Where do I for policymakers and practitioners who are new to online education start?” This page provides and for those who have extensive experience in the field. Third, background on how the because there has been so much online education activity in the past report is organized, whether year, the report attempts to capture new activity. you’re looking for specific information or simply A Definitions section immediately precedes the body of text. Because seeking to gain a background there are many terms in online learning without commonly understood understanding of the state of definitions, this section defines the key terms used in this report. online learning. The National snapshot and the year in review captures a picture of the state of online learning in 2009 and provides a short summary of some key developments over the past year. Key issues in online learning presents a more in-depth summary of the information and data within the state policy profiles and the online program profiles. This section contains most of the analysis within the report; it provides more depth than the national snapshot without the raw data in the profiles sections. For Notes from the field we invited researchers and practitioners to contribute short articles on specific subjects that in most cases were not major areas of focus forKeeping Pace. The resulting articles raise several key issues that are not discussed in depth elsewhere in the report. The Outlook and conclusion looks to the future and explores the role of online learning within the context of educational reform and other changes that are occurring across public schools. Following the sections listed above are two sections that provide much of the data on which the summaries and conclusions are based. The Program profiles describe a subset of the programs that responded to the Keeping Pace program survey, divided by program type. For each program type common attributes are discussed, and exceptions to the common attributes are noted. The State policy profiles contain online learning profiles of all fifty states, divided into four geographic regions. Most state profiles include footnotes that reference state laws, state policies, and websites of programs. However, in some cases, the information is general and was gathered through numerous website reviews and phone interviews with state agencies; in these cases footnotes are not included. The primary purpose of footnotes is to provide the source documents that will be most valuable to readers. APPENDIX STATE POLICY PROFILES PROGRAM PROFILES OUTLOOK & CONCLUSION NOTES FROM THE FIELD KEY ISSUES NATIONAL SNAPSHOT NOTES FROM THE FIELD KEY ISSUES NATIONAL & CONCLUSION POLICY PROFILES PROGRAM OUTLOOK APPENDIX STATE 4 FRONT MATTER Definitions Keeping Pace defines online learning as teacher-led education that Online, elearning, virtual takes place over the Internet, with the teacher and student separated schools, digital courses— SNAPSHOT NATIONAL geographically. Several associated educational practices, such as blending there are countless terms online and face-to-face instruction, the use of Internet-based resources in that relate to online the classroom, and laptop initiatives, are discussed in cases where there are significant programs or policies related to these practices. learning but which may have different meanings For simplicity, Keeping Pace draws a distinction between programs for different people that are primarily supplemental and those that are primarily full-time. and organizations. This Although not exact, the distinction is important because students in section defines the terms supplemental programs are enrolled in a school separate from the that Keeping Pace uses KEY ISSUES online program, while students in full-time programs are enrolled only throughout the report. in the online school. In addition, • Full-time programs typically are responsible for these students’ scores on state assessments required by No Child Left Behind, which is the NOTES FROM THE FIELD primary way in which student outcomes, and school performance, are measured; and • Full-time programs are often funded by the per-pupil (also known as FTE for full-time equivalent) public education funding formula that follows the student, while most state-led supplemental programs are funded primarily

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