Sec. 21f.
(1) A pupil enrolled in a district in any of grades 6 to 12 is eligible to enroll in an online course as provided for in this section.
(2) With the consent of the pupil's parent or legal guardian, a district shall enroll an eligible pupil in up to 2 online courses as requested by the pupil during an academic term, semester, or trimester. Unless the pupil is newly enrolled in the pupil's primary district, the request for online course enrollment must be made in the academic term, semester, trimester, or summer preceding the enrollment. A district may not establish additional requirements that would prohibit a pupil from taking an online course. If a pupil has demonstrated previous success with online courses and the school leadership and the pupil's parent or legal guardian determine that it is in the best interest of the pupil, a pupil may be enrolled in more than 2 online courses in a specific academic term, semester, or trimester. Consent of the pupil's parent or legal guardian is not required if the pupil is at least age 18 or is an emancipated minor.
(3) An eligible pupil may enroll in an online course published in the pupil's primary district's catalog of online courses described in subsection (7)(a) or the statewide catalog of online courses maintained by the Michigan Virtual University pursuant to section 98.
(4) A providing district or community college shall determine whether or not it has capacity to accept applications for enrollment from nonresident applicants in online courses and may use that limit as the reason for refusal to enroll an applicant. If the number of nonresident applicants eligible for acceptance in an online course does not exceed the capacity of the providing district or community college to provide the online course, the providing district or community college shall accept for enrollment all of the nonresident applicants eligible for acceptance. If the number of nonresident applicants exceeds the providing district's or community college's capacity to provide the online course, the providing district or community college shall use a random draw system, subject to the need to abide by state and federal antidiscrimination laws and court orders.
(5) A pupil's primary district may deny the pupil enrollment in an online course if any of the following apply, as determined by the district:
(a) The pupil has previously gained the credits provided from the completion of the online course.
(b) The online course is not capable of generating academic credit.
(c) The online course is inconsistent with the remaining graduation requirements or career interests of the pupil.
(d) The pupil does not possess the prerequisite knowledge and skills to be successful in the online course or has demonstrated failure in previous online coursework in the same subject.
(e) The online course is of insufficient quality or rigor. A district that denies a pupil enrollment for this reason shall make a reasonable effort to assist the pupil to find an alternative course in the same or a similar subject that is of acceptable rigor and quality.
(f) The cost of the online course exceeds the amount identified in subsection (10), unless the pupil's parent or legal guardian agrees to pay the cost that exceeds this amount.
(g) The online course enrollment request does not occur within the same timelines established by the primary district for enrollment and schedule changes for regular courses.
(6) If a pupil is denied enrollment in an online course by the pupil's primary district, the pupil may appeal the denial by submitting a letter to the superintendent of the intermediate district in which the pupil's primary district is located. The letter of appeal shall include the reason provided by the primary district for not enrolling the pupil and the reason why the pupil is claiming that the enrollment should be approved. The intermediate district superintendent or designee shall respond to the appeal within 5 days after it is received. If the intermediate district superintendent or designee determines that the denial of enrollment does not meet 1 or more of the reasons specified in subsection (5), the primary district shall allow the pupil to enroll in the online course.
(7) To provide an online course under this section, the providing district or intermediate district shall do all of the following:
(a) Provide the Michigan Virtual University with the course syllabus in a form and method prescribed by the Michigan Virtual University for inclusion in a statewide online course catalog. The district or intermediate district shall also provide on its publicly accessible website a link to the course syllabi for all of the online courses offered by the district or intermediate district and a link to the statewide catalog of online courses maintained by the Michigan Virtual University.
(b) Assign to each pupil a teacher of record and provide the primary district with the personal identification code for the teacher of record.
(c) Offer the online course on an open entry and exit method, or aligned to a semester, trimester, or accelerated academic term format.
(d) Not later than October 1, 2015, provide the Michigan Virtual University with the number of enrollments in each online course the district or intermediate district provided to pupils pursuant to this section in the immediately preceding school year, and the number of enrollments in which the pupil earned 60% or more of the total course points for each online course.
(8) To provide an online course under this section, a community college shall do all of the following:
(a) Provide the Michigan Virtual University with the course syllabus in a form and method prescribed by the Michigan Virtual University for inclusion in a statewide online course catalog.
(b) Offer the online course on an open entry and exit method, or aligned to a semester, trimester, or accelerated academic term format.
(c) Ensure that each online course it provides under this section generates postsecondary credit.
(d) Beginning with October 1, 2016, and by October 1 of each year thereafter, provide the Michigan Virtual University with the number of enrollments in each online course the community college provided to pupils pursuant to this section in the immediately preceding school year, and the number of enrollments in which the pupil earned 60% or more of the total course points for each online course.
(e) Be taught by an instructor employed by or contracted through the community college.
(9) For any online course a pupil enrolls in under this section, the pupil's primary district must assign to the pupil a mentor to monitor the pupil's progress during the online course and shall supply the providing district with the mentor's contact information.
(10) For a pupil enrolled in 1 or more online courses published in the pupil's primary district's catalog of online courses under subsection (7) or in the statewide catalog of online courses maintained by the Michigan Virtual University, the primary district shall use foundation allowance or per-pupil funds calculated under section 20 to pay for the expenses associated with the online course or courses. A district is not required to pay toward the cost of an online course an amount that exceeds 6.67% of the minimum foundation allowance for the current fiscal year as calculated under section 20.
(11) An online learning pupil shall have the same rights and access to technology in his or her primary district's school facilities as all other pupils enrolled in the pupil's primary district.
(12) If a pupil successfully completes an online course, as determined by the pupil's primary district, the pupil's primary district shall grant appropriate academic credit for completion of the course and shall count that credit toward completion of graduation and subject area requirements. A pupil's school record and transcript shall identify the online course title as it appears in the online course syllabus.
(13) The enrollment of a pupil in 1 or more online courses shall not result in a pupil being counted as more than 1.0 full-time equivalent pupils under this article.
(14) The portion of the full-time equated pupil membership for which a pupil is enrolled in 1 or more online courses under this section shall not be transferred under the pupil transfer process under section 25e.
(15) As used in this section:
(a) "Mentor" means a professional employee of the primary district who monitors the pupil's progress, ensures the pupil has access to needed technology, is available for assistance, and ensures access to the teacher of record. A mentor may also serve as the teacher of record if the mentor meets the requirements under subdivision (g).
(b) "Online course" means a course of study that is capable of generating a credit or a grade, that is provided in an interactive Internet-connected learning environment, in which pupils are separated from their teachers by time or location, or both, and, if the course is provided by a district or intermediate district, in which a teacher who holds a valid Michigan teaching certificate that qualifies the teacher to teach the course is responsible for providing instruction, determining appropriate instructional methods for each pupil, diagnosing learning needs, assessing pupil learning, prescribing intervention strategies, reporting outcomes, and evaluating the effects of instruction and support strategies.
(c) "Online course syllabus" means a document that includes all of the following:
(i) The state academic standards addressed in an online course.
(ii) The online course content outline.
(iii) The online course required assessments.
(iv) The online course prerequisites.
(v) Expectations for actual instructor contact time with the online learning pupil and other pupil-to-instructor communications.
(vi) Academic support available to the online learning pupil.
(vii) The online course learning outcomes and objectives.
(viii) The name of the institution or organization providing the online content.
(ix) The name of the institution or organization providing the online instructor.
(x) The course titles assigned by the district or intermediate district and the course titles and course codes from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) school codes for the exchange of data (SCED).
(xi) The number of eligible nonresident pupils that will be accepted by the district or intermediate district in the online course.
(xii) The results of the online course quality review using the guidelines and model review process published by the Michigan Virtual University.
(d) "Online learning pupil" means a pupil enrolled in 1 or more online courses.
(e) "Primary district" means the district that enrolls the pupil and reports the pupil as a full-time equated pupil for pupil membership purposes.
(f) "Providing district" means the district, intermediate district, or community college that the primary district pays to provide the online course.
(g) "Teacher of record" means a teacher who holds a valid Michigan teaching certificate; who, if applicable, is endorsed in the subject area and grade of the online course; and is responsible for providing instruction, determining instructional methods for each pupil, diagnosing learning needs, assessing pupil learning, prescribing intervention strategies, reporting outcomes, and evaluating the effects of instruction and support strategies.
History: Add. 2013, Act 60, Eff. Oct. 1, 2013 ;-- Am. 2013, Act 130, Imd. Eff. Oct. 9, 2013 ;-- Am. 2014, Act 116, Imd. Eff. Apr. 11, 2014 ;-- Am. 2014, Act 196, Eff. Oct. 1, 2014 ;-- Am. 2015, Act 85, Eff. Oct. 1, 2015 ;-- Am. 2015, Act 139, Eff. Oct. 7, 2015
Last modified: October 10, 2016