(See also Network and Internet Acceptable Use Policy)

Upon request, the District will provide supplemental learning opportunities using online technology in a nontraditional classroom setting to students enrolled in the District. Supplemental online courses are an optional avenue of instruction for District-enrolled students. All existing requirements related to student progress including retention, promotion, and grade assignment are the same for the District’s online students as they are for students enrolled in traditional courses. The District shall ensure that students have the opportunity to advance through the supplemental online course at their own pace so long as the supplemental online course completion corresponds with the standard course completion schedule of the District or the student’s Individualized Education Program (IEP) or 504 Plan.

Definition of Terms

• “Supplemental online course” - An online program that allows students who are enrolled in a public school to supplement their education by enrolling part time in online courses that are educationally appropriate for the student and which are part of a student’s regular school day.

• “Educationally appropriate” - For the purposes of supplemental online courses, educationally appropriate means any instruction that is not substantially a repeat of a course or portion of a course that the student has successfully completed.

Access to Supplemental Online Courses

Only public school students enrolled in the District will be granted access to supplemental online courses. Once a student has made a request to enroll in supplemental online course(s), the District will take necessary steps to determine the educational appropriateness of the request and to make online course(s) available to that student. Whether a requested online course is educationally appropriate for a student will be determined by the site principal or designee(s).  Students may take supplemental online courses from online course providers selected and approved by the District that meet the criteria established by the Oklahoma State Board of Education (OSBE). Students will have access to supplemental online courses and the required equipment within the District. However, students taking supplemental online courses from a remote location will be responsible for providing their own equipment and Internet access.

Funding

The District shall provide funding for an enrolled student’s participation in online courses which could otherwise be taken in a traditional classroom setting within the student’s school day. Students wishing to take more online course instruction may do so at their own expense. The District is not responsible for payment to an online course provider for online course instruction expenses incurred by a student outside the regular school day. The District will bear no responsibility for payment or collection of any outstanding funds or fees owed by a student to an online course provider.

School Day and Attendance Standards

Public school students enrolled in the District may take supplemental online courses from a location inside or outside of the school site location and may participate in supplemental online courses outside the normal school hours of operation. Students who elect to enroll in supplemental online courses, regardless of when or where taken, are still required to complete the equivalent number of hours of instruction as regularly enrolled students in the District and must satisfy the same attendance requirements of the District. Students who demonstrate no evidence (as outlined below) of participation in an online course may be withdrawn from the course, per District handbook policy.

Students enrolled in supplemental online courses must meet all state mandated compulsory attendance requirements and are not exempt from state truancy laws. Attendance and participation in a supplemental online course shall be monitored in accordance with District policy and determined by documented student/teacher/course interaction that may include, but is not limited to, online chats, emails, posting/submission of lessons, and required face-to-face meetings with online course teachers. The student may be counted “in attendance” when evidence of student/teacher/course interaction that demonstrates student progress toward learning objectives and demonstrates regular student engagement in course activity is provided. Attendance/participation reports shall be provided to parents and the District on a weekly basis via electronic format. Supplemental online course providers from outside the District must make available to students, parents, and the District reports that reflect daily attendance and participation and provide evidence that the student is making appropriate progress. Such reports shall be sent weekly to site administrators or designees via electronic format.

Student Eligibility, Admissions, and Enrollment

Online supplemental courses that are educationally appropriate shall be offered to all qualifying District students who meet the following criteria:

1. The District offers individual academically approved and educationally appropriate online supplemental courses to students who are enrolled in the District. Students enrolled in supplemental online courses must meet all enrollment and eligibility criteria set by the District Student Residency Policy, the Oklahoma State Board of Education Rules, and state law. Only students who are enrolled in the District for the current school year are eligible to enroll in supplemental online courses. The admission process for students in grades seven through twelve who wish to take one or more supplemental online courses through the District may be found in the course planning guide and the academic criteria will be the same for students enrolled in traditional coursework. Course credit will be issued and transcripted upon satisfactory completion of the course within a specified timeframe. Students in all other grades should contact their site principal for application and enrollment procedures. District policies regarding grading scales and credits earned shall be applied to supplemental online courses under the same criteria as traditional courses offered by the District.

2. The District shall allow for ongoing and continuous enrollment for supplemental online courses that are compliant with state law and all applicable State Board of Education rules. The final determination and selection of the providers is at the discretion of the District. Students enrolled in supplemental online courses shall have their progress monitored weekly by the teacher of record.

3. Rarely, an online course provider outside of the District may be approved for specific students. The online course provider shall officially notify the District and parents in writing of the completion of each course the student takes within five (5) business days of completion. Course grades must be reported in the form of a percentage or in a manner consistent with District grading policies. The District shall use its established grading scale to convert the percentage to a letter grade or other notation consistent with District grading policies for transcript purposes. Out of District online course providers must report any change in a student’s status (moving, dropping a course, etc.) immediately upon discovery or notification of the student’s change in status.  

Appeal Process

If a student’s enrollment in a supplemental online course is denied based on a determination by the District that the course is not educationally appropriate, the parents or guardians of the student may appeal that determination to the site principal. Further appeal will be heard by the Superintendent or designee(s). The District will notify the State Department of Education of any denial of a student’s enrollment in online supplemental course(s), the reason for the denial, and any correspondence or information the District received in support of the student taking the online course.  

Grace Period

A student may withdraw without academic penalty from a supplemental online course within fifteen (15) calendar days from the first day of a supplemental online course enrollment.  

A student who withdraws from any supplemental online course is still obligated to complete the equivalent number of classroom hours of traditional course instruction (six hours per day) that is required of students in the District in accordance with District policy and state law. Enrollment in a traditional course must be completed within ten days of the beginning of the semester in order for the student to receive course credit.

Student Assessments

Each student enrolled in one or more online courses will participate in required state-level academic assessments administered pursuant to state law in the same manner as other regularly enrolled students within the state. No student will be allowed to enroll in an online course without submission of a signed Education Student Assessment Results Release Form or FERPA waiver.

Special Education Students

Students who are on Individual Education Plans (IEPs) or 504 Plans should contact their site for details regarding enrollment in supplementary online courses as part of the IEP or 504 processes. The District will provide supplementary aids and services, program modifications, supports for personnel and accommodations set forth in a student’s IEP or Section 504 Plan to enable a student to take supplemental online courses that have been determined to be educationally appropriate for the student by the student’s IEP or 504 team members. 

Approved by the Board of Education January 2002

Revised June 2012

Revised November 2013

Revised May 2021