CHAPTER 15
USE OF ONLINE LEARNING AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS
FOR INSTRUCTION BY SCHOOLS
281—15.1(256) Purpose. It is the purpose of this chapter to give guidance and direction for the use of online learning or the use of telecommunications as an instructional tool for students enrolled in kindergarten through grade 12. It is a further purpose of this chapter to provide guidance for students and school districts regarding enrollment of students in one or more courses offered by Iowa Learning Online.
[ARC 0522C, IAB 12/12/12, effective 1/16/13]
281—15.2(256) Definitions.
“Appropriately licensed and endorsed” means possession of current and valid licensure by the Iowa board of educational examiners to practice at a prescribed educational level in a specified content area.
“Class size” refers to the total group taught during a time period by a teacher or teaching team with students at one or more sites.
“Delivered primarily over the Internet” means more than 50 percent of the course content or instruction or both is delivered using the global computer network of the World Wide Web or Internet.
“Department” means the department of education.
“Exclusive instruction” means without the use of any other form of instructional delivery.
“Iowa Learning Online” or “ILO” means the department’s digital learning initiative to provide online courses to students enrolled or dually enrolled in participating school districts and accredited nonpublic schools. ILO is more specifically explained in Division III herein.
“Online learning” or “online coursework” means educational instruction and content delivered primarily over the Internet. “Online learning” or “online coursework” does not include print-based correspondence curricula, broadcast television or radio, videocassettes, or stand-alone educational software programs that lack a significant Internet-based instructional component.
“Participating school district or accredited nonpublic school” means a school district or accredited nonpublic school that has registered a student in an ILO course and has agreed to provide the student with access, during the school day, to a computer that has Internet connectivity through a direct connection as well as access to a telephone or an ICN classroom and transportation to periodic laboratory components, if needed or required. The district has also agreed to provide a staff member to serve as a site coordinator and contact for the ILO teacher, to monitor progress, and to serve as the student’s advocate by providing academic coaching and technical support. Further, the district has agreed to award a grade and credit on the student’s district-level transcript, based on the end-of-course evaluation by the ILO teacher.
“Telecommunications” means narrowcast communications through systems that are directed toward a narrowly defined audience and includes interactive live communications. “Telecommunications” does not include online learning.
[ARC 0522C, IAB 12/12/12, effective 1/16/13]
DIVISION I
USE OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS FOR INSTRUCTION BY SCHOOLS
281—15.3(256) Interactivity. Courses delivered primarily via telecommunications shall employ live interactive systems which allow, at a minimum, one-way video and two-way audio communication. An annual waiver may be granted by the department for a telecommunications system that does not include audio but has alternative contemporaneous, interactive communication ability and is consistent with sound instructional practice.
[ARC 0522C, IAB 12/12/12, effective 1/16/13]
281—15.4(256) Course eligibility. Telecommunications may be employed as a means to deliver any course, including a course required for accreditation by the department, provided it is not the exclusive means of instructional delivery.
[ARC 0522C, IAB 12/12/12, effective 1/16/13]
281—15.5(256) Teacher preparation and accessibility. A teacher appropriately licensed and endorsed for the educational level and content area being taught shall be present and responsible for the instructional program at the receiving site if a presenter of material transmitted via telecommunications is not an appropriately licensed and endorsed teacher for the educational level and content area. If a presenter of material transmitted via telecommunications is an appropriately licensed and endorsed teacher for the educational level and content area, a supervising teacher, or aide to whom a supervising teacher is readily available for consultation, shall supervise and monitor the curriculum and students and be readily accessible to the students. Prior to being assigned initially to deliver instruction via telecommunications, a teacher shall receive training regarding effective practices which enhance learning by telecommunications.
[ARC 0522C, IAB 12/12/12, effective 1/16/13]
281—15.6(256) School responsibilities. Each board of a school district or an accredited nonpublic school employing telecommunications for instruction shall develop policies relative to the use of telecommunications in the delivery of the educational program that are consistent with effective clinical practice. The school district or accredited nonpublic school shall report its use of telecommunications for instruction annually to the department on forms provided by the department. This report shall include:
	1.	To whom the instruction was delivered including class size, type of class (such as seminar or lecture), and grade level;
	2.	The course description and schedule of instruction;
	3.	The number, assignment, licensure including the licensing folder number, and the training received regarding effective practices which enhance learning by telecommunications of all staff involved in the teaching/learning process at both the origination and the receiving sites; and
	4.	The type of telecommunications used for course delivery, e.g., Internet, ICN, Polycom, etc.
[ARC 0522C, IAB 12/12/12, effective 1/16/13]
DIVISION II
ONLINE LEARNING OFFERED BY A SCHOOL DISTRICT
281—15.7(256) School district responsibilities. Subject to the prohibition in rule 281—15.8(256), any online coursework offered by a school district shall be offered solely to resident students of the school district, or students attending the school district through a sharing agreement with another school district, and shall be taught by a teacher appropriately licensed and endorsed for the educational level and content area being taught. The teacher may be employed directly by the school district or by a third-party provider of the online curricula used by the school district. Teachers employed by the school district shall be subject to the provisions of Iowa Code chapters 272, 279, and 284. Teachers employed by a third-party provider shall be subject to the provisions of Iowa Code chapter 272; these teachers must be given access to appropriate professional development by the school district, but otherwise are not subject to the provisions of Iowa Code chapters 279 and 284.
[ARC 0522C, IAB 12/12/12, effective 1/16/13]
281—15.8(256) Prohibition regarding open enrollment. Open enrollment of students to a school district that offers online coursework is limited to open enrollment to the receiving school districts of Cumberland-Anita-Massena (CAM) and Clayton Ridge, pursuant to Iowa Code section 256.7(32)“c” as amended by 2015 Iowa Acts, Senate File 510, section 99. In implementing any numerical limitation required by Iowa Code section 256.7(32)“c” as amended by 2015 Iowa Acts, Senate File 510, section 99, priority shall be given to students who are documented victims of bullying and harassment, as defined in Iowa Code section 280.28.
[ARC 0522C, IAB 12/12/12, effective 1/16/13; ARC 2313C, IAB 12/9/15, effective 1/13/16]
281—15.9(256) Special education services. Children with disabilities may not be categorically excluded from admission to online learning programs or from enrollment in online coursework.
	15.9(1) Whether an online course or online learning is appropriate to a child with a disability must be determined by the child’s needs, not by the child’s weightedness. If a child’s individualized education program (IEP) goals cannot be met in online learning, with or without supplementary aids and services or modifications, online learning is not appropriate to the child.
	15.9(2) If a child’s IEP team determines that online learning is inappropriate to the child, the child’s parents are entitled to prior written notice pursuant to rule 281—41.503(256B,34CFR300) and to have available to them the procedural safeguards provided under rule 281—41.504(256B,34CFR300).
	15.9(3) When a child with an IEP seeks enrollment into an online learning program by means of open enrollment, the child’s IEP team shall determine that the child meets the open enrollment requirements under 281—Chapter 17. In addition, the child’s IEP team, together with representatives of the resident and receiving districts and the relevant area education agencies, shall determine whether the receiving district is able to provide an appropriate online education to the child, either with or without supplementary aids and services or modifications. Any dispute about whether the receiving district’s program is appropriate shall be resolved by the director of special education of the area education agency in which the receiving district is located. The child shall remain in the child’s resident district while any dispute about the appropriateness of the receiving district’s program is pending.
[ARC 0522C, IAB 12/12/12, effective 1/16/13]
DIVISION III
IOWA LEARNING ONLINE (ILO)
281—15.10(256) Appropriate applications of ILO coursework. ILO courses are intended to help Iowa school districts expand learning opportunities by providing opportunities for individual students to take one or more courses offered “at a distance” using technologies such as the Internet and interactive videoconferencing. Participating school districts and accredited nonpublic schools may also enroll students in ILO courses if online learning is more suited to a specific student’s circumstances. ILO may also provide distance education to a student receiving independent private instruction as defined in Iowa Code section 299A.1(2)“b,” competent private instruction under Iowa Code section 299A.2, or private instruction by a nonlicensed person under Iowa Code section 299A.3.
[ARC 0522C, IAB 12/12/12, effective 1/16/13; ARC 3981C, IAB 8/29/18, effective 10/3/18]
281—15.11(256) Inappropriate applications of ILO coursework; criteria for waivers.
	15.11(1) General. ILO courses are not to be used by a participating school district or accredited nonpublic school as a long-term substitute for any course required to be offered and taught under 281—Chapter 12.
	15.11(2) Waiver of subrule 15.11(1): ILO coursework. The department may grant for one year a waiver from the requirement to offer and teach a specific subject if the school district or accredited nonpublic school documents all of the following:
	a. 	The subject and grading period or periods for which waiver is requested.
	b. 	Reasons why the school district or accredited nonpublic school does not have a teacher employed who is appropriately licensed and endorsed for the educational level and content area being taught.
	c. 	The steps taken by the school district or accredited nonpublic school to employ a teacher who is appropriately licensed and endorsed for the educational level and content area being taught.
	d. 	Approval of the request by the local school board.
	15.11(3) Additional waiver of subrule 15.11(1): Coursework not available through ILO. In addition to the requirements of rule 281—15.7(256), the specified subject may alternatively be provided by the school district or school if all of the following requirements are met:
	a. 	The course content is provided through an online learning platform by an Iowa licensed teacher with online learning experience.
	b. 	The course content provided is aligned with school district or school standards and satisfies the requirements of rule 281—15.13(256).
	c. 	The course is not offered by ILO pursuant to this chapter, or the course offered by ILO lacks the capacity to accommodate additional students.
	d. 	The course is the sole course per semester that the school district or school is providing instead of ILO pursuant to this rule.
[ARC 0522C, IAB 12/12/12, effective 1/16/13; ARC 2861C, IAB 12/7/16, effective 1/11/17]
281—15.12(256) School and school district responsibilities. Each participating school district and accredited nonpublic school shall submit its online curricula, excluding coursework provided by ILO, to the department for review. Each participating school district and accredited nonpublic school shall include in its comprehensive school improvement plan submitted pursuant to Iowa Code section 256.7(21) a list and description of the online coursework offered by the school or school district, excluding coursework provided by ILO. Each participating school district and accredited nonpublic school is responsible for recording grades received for ILO coursework in a student’s permanent record and for awarding graduation credit for ILO coursework. Each participating school district and accredited nonpublic school shall identify a site coordinator to serve as a student advocate and as a liaison between the initiative staff and teachers and the school district or accredited nonpublic school. Each participating school district and school shall pay the fees prescribed by subrule 15.13(2).
[ARC 0522C, IAB 12/12/12, effective 1/16/13; ARC 3981C, IAB 8/29/18, effective 10/3/18]
281—15.13(256) Department responsibilities.
	15.13(1) Course quality. The department shall annually evaluate the quality of courses offered under ILO to ensure that coursework is rigorous and of high quality and is aligned with Iowa’s core curriculum and core content requirements and standards as well as with national standards of quality for online courses issued by an internationally recognized association for elementary and secondary online learning. The department shall ensure that all ILO coursework is taught by a teacher who is appropriately licensed and endorsed for the educational level and content area being taught and who has completed an online-learning-for-Iowa-educators professional development course offered by an area education agency, a teacher preservice program, or comparable coursework.
	15.13(2) Fiscal matters. The department shall establish fees payable by school districts, accredited nonpublic schools, and individuals providing instruction to students under Iowa Code chapter 299A as described in rule 281—15.10(256), for ILO coursework. Fees collected pursuant to this subrule are appropriated to the department to be used only for the purpose of administering ILO and shall be established so as not to exceed the cost of administering ILO. Providing professional development necessary to prepare teachers to participate in the initiative shall be considered a cost of ILO administration. Notwithstanding Iowa Code section 8.33, fees collected by the department that remain unencumbered or unobligated at the close of the fiscal year shall not revert but shall remain available for expenditure for the purpose of expanding ILO coursework offered in subsequent fiscal years.
[ARC 0522C, IAB 12/12/12, effective 1/16/13; ARC 3981C, IAB 8/29/18, effective 10/3/18]
281—15.14(256) Responsibilities of individuals providing private instruction under Iowa Code chapter 299A. The individual providing instruction to a student under rule 281—15.10(256) shall pay the fees prescribed by subrule 15.13(2). The individual providing instruction to a student under rule 281—15.10(256) shall receive the student’s score for completed ILO coursework.
[ARC 0522C, IAB 12/12/12, effective 1/16/13; ARC 3981C, IAB 8/29/18, effective 10/3/18]
281—15.15(256) Enrollment in an ILO course. Under ILO, a student must be enrolled in a participating school district or accredited nonpublic school or be receiving private instruction under Iowa Code chapter 299A as described in rule 281—15.10(256).
[ARC 3981C, IAB 8/29/18, effective 10/3/18]
These rules are intended to implement Iowa Code sections 256.2, 256.7, 256.9, and 256.42.
[Filed 4/13/90, Notice 1/10/90—published 5/2/90, effective 6/6/90]
[Filed ARC 0522C (Notice ARC 0302C, IAB 8/22/12), IAB 12/12/12, effective 1/16/13]
[Filed ARC 2313C (Notice ARC 2118C, IAB 9/2/15), IAB 12/9/15, effective 1/13/16]
[Filed ARC 2861C (Notice ARC 2760C, IAB 10/12/16), IAB 12/7/16, effective 1/11/17]
[Filed ARC 3981C (Notice ARC 3823C, IAB 6/6/18), IAB 8/29/18, effective 10/3/18]