As used in this chapter, the term:
(1) "Multidistrict online provider" means:
(a) A private or nonprofit organization that enters into a contract with a school district to provide online courses or programs to K-12 students from more than one school district;
(b) A private or nonprofit organization or a school district that enters into contracts with multiple school districts to provide online courses or programs to K-12 students from those districts; or
(c) Except as provided in (c)(i) and (ii) of this subsection, a school district that provides online courses or programs to students who reside outside the geographic boundaries of the school district.
(i) "Multidistrict online provider" does not include a school district online learning program in which fewer than ten percent of the students enrolled in the program are from other districts under the interdistrict student transfer provisions of RCW
28A.225.225.
(ii) "Multidistrict online provider" also does not include regional online learning programs that are jointly developed and implemented through an interdistrict cooperative program between two or more school districts or between one or more school districts and an educational service district, unless the annual average headcount of students who reside outside the geographic boundaries of those school districts and who are enrolled in the regional online program is ten percent or more of the total program enrollment headcount. Any agreement establishing such a program must address, at minimum, how the districts share student full-time equivalency for state basic education funding purposes and how categorical education programs, including special education, are provided to eligible students.
(2) "Online course" means a course in which:
(a) More than half of the course content is delivered electronically using the internet or other computer-based methods; and
(b) More than half of the teaching is conducted from a remote location through an online course learning management system or other online or electronic tools.
An online course may be delivered to students at school as part of the regularly scheduled school day. An online course also may be delivered to students, in whole or in part, independently from a regular classroom schedule. Online courses delivered to students independently of a regular classroom schedule must comply with RCW
28A.150.262 and WAC
392-121-182 to qualify for state basic education funding.
(3) "Online school program" means a school program that:
(a) Offers courses or grade-level course work that are delivered primarily electronically using the internet or other computer-based methods;
(b) Offers courses or grade-level course work that are taught by a teacher primarily from a remote location using online or other electronic tools. Students enrolled in an online program may have access to the teacher synchronously, asynchronously, or both;
(c) Offers a sequential set of online courses or grade-level course work that may be taken in a single school term or throughout the school year in a manner that could provide a full-time basic education program if so desired by the student. Students may enroll in the program as part-time or full-time students; and
(d) Has an online component of the program with online lessons and tools for student and data management.
An online school program may be delivered to students at school as part of the regularly scheduled school day. An online school program also may be delivered to students, in whole or in part, independently from a regular classroom schedule. Online programs delivered to students independently of a regular classroom schedule must comply with RCW
28A.150.262 and WAC
392-121-182 to qualify for state basic education funding.
(4) "Online provider" means any provider of an online course or program, multidistrict online providers, all school district online learning programs, and all regional online learning programs.
(5) "Accrediting organizations" means the designated bodies identified by the superintendent of public instruction after consultation with the Washington council for online learning and published on the superintendent of public instruction web site. Accrediting organizations are for providers to use to satisfy the accreditation qualification for being an approved online provider.
(6) "Affiliate provider" means a school district that:
(a) Provides online courses offered by one or more approved online provider that provides the course content, the technology platform, and the instructional component of the courses; and
(b) Does not modify the content or instruction of the approved provider's offerings. An affiliate provider may not offer to its students any online course or courses that are provided by a nonapproved online provider.
(7) "Single-district provider" means a school district online provider that is not a multidistrict online provider or an affiliate provider.
(8) For the purposes of this section, "primarily" is defined as more than half.
[Statutory Authority: Chapter 28A.250 RCW. 12-15-025, § 392-502-010, filed 7/11/12, effective 8/11/12; 12-03-067, § 392-502-010, filed 1/12/12, effective 2/12/12. Statutory Authority: 2009 c 542. 10-01-099, § 392-502-010, filed 12/17/09, effective 1/17/10.]