CA Educ Code Section 46300.8

(a)

Commencing with the 2014–15 school year, attendance of pupils in grades 9 to 12, inclusive, under the immediate supervision and control of a certificated employee of the school district or county office of education who is delivering synchronous, online instruction shall be included in computing average daily attendance, provided that all of the following occur:

(1)

The certificated employee providing the instruction confirms pupil attendance through visual recognition during the class period. A pupil logon, without any other pupil identification, is not sufficient to confirm pupil attendance.

(2)

The class has regularly scheduled starting and ending times, and the pupil is scheduled to attend the entire class period. Average daily attendance shall be counted only for attendance in classes held at the regularly scheduled time.

(3)

An individual with exceptional needs, as defined in Section 56026, may participate in synchronous, online instruction only if his or her individualized education program developed pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 56340) of Chapter 4 of Part 30 specifically provides for that participation.

(4)

If a school district or county office of education elects to offer synchronous, online instruction pursuant to this paragraph, the school district or county office of education shall not deny enrollment to a pupil based solely on the pupil’s lack of access to the computer hardware or software necessary to participate in the synchronous, online course. If a pupil chooses to enroll in a synchronous, online course and does not have access to the necessary equipment, the school district or county office of education shall provide, for each pupil who chooses to enroll in a synchronous, online course, access to the computer hardware or software necessary to participate in the synchronous, online course.

(5)

The ratio of average daily attendance for synchronous, online pupils who are 18 years of age or younger to school district full-time equivalent certificated employees responsible for synchronous, online instruction, calculated as specified by the department, shall not exceed the equivalent ratio of pupils to full-time certificated employees for all other educational programs operated by the school district, unless a higher or lower ratio is negotiated in a collective bargaining agreement.

(6)

The ratio of average daily attendance for synchronous, online pupils who are 18 years of age or younger to county office of education full-time equivalent certificated employees who provide synchronous, online instruction, to be calculated in a manner prescribed by the department, shall not exceed the equivalent ratio of pupils to full-time certificated employees for all other educational programs operated by the high school or unified school district with the greatest average daily attendance of pupils in that county, unless a higher or lower ratio is provided for in a collective bargaining agreement. The computation of the ratios specified in paragraph (5) and this paragraph shall be performed annually by the reporting agency at the time of, and in connection with, the second principal apportionment report to the Superintendent.

(b)

The Superintendent shall establish rules and regulations for purposes of implementing this section that, at a minimum, address all of the following:

(1)

How school districts and county offices of education include pupil attendance in online courses in the calculation of average daily attendance pursuant to Section 46300.

(2)

How to ensure a pupil meets minimum instructional time requirements pursuant to the following:

(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.

(3)

Require statewide testing results for online pupils to be reported and assigned to the school in which the pupil is enrolled for regular classroom courses, and to any school district or county office of education within which that school’s testing results are aggregated.

(4)

Require attendance accounted for pursuant to this section to be subject to the audit conducted pursuant to Section 41020.

(c)

The Superintendent may provide guidance regarding the ability of a school district or county office of education to provide synchronous, online instruction.

(d)

For purposes of this section, “synchronous, online instruction” means a class or course in which the pupil and the certificated employee who is providing instruction are online at the same time and use real-time, Internet-based collaborative software that combines audio, video, file sharing, and other forms of interaction.

(e)

This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2019, and, as of January 1, 2020, is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that becomes operative on or before January 1, 2020, deletes or extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed.