Utah Admin. Code R277-726-7 - Provider Requirements and Responsibilities
(1)
(a) A
provider shall administer the applicable statewide assessments to a
participating private or home school student as directed by the Superintendent,
including proctoring the applicable statewide assessments, consistent with
Section 53F-4-510 and Rule
R277-404.
(b) A provider is
responsible for administrative and proctoring costs and planning for the
applicable statewide assessments described in Subsection (1)(a).
(2) A provider shall:
(a) establish a procedure that a student or
parent may complete online to excuse the student from statewide assessments as
described in Subsection
53G-6-803(9);
and
(b) record and maintain a
choice to opt a student out of a statewide assessment in a manner prescribed by
the Superintendent.
(3) A
provider shall provide a parent or a student with email and telephone contacts
for the provider during regular business hours to facilitate parent
contact.
(4) A provider and any
third party working with a provider shall, for all eligible students, satisfy
Board requirements for:
(a) consistency with
course standards as described in Sections
53F-4-514 and
53E-6-201;
(b) criminal background checks for provider
employees consistent with Title 53G, Chapter 11, Part 4, Background
Checks;
(c) documentation of
student enrollment and participation consistent with a standard of active
participation on record with the Superintendent; and
(d) compliance with:
(i) the IDEA;
(ii) Section 504; and
(iii) requirements for multilingual
students.
(5) A
provider shall receive payments for a student properly enrolled in the program
from the Superintendent consistent with:
(a)
Board procedures;
(b) Board
timelines; and
(c) Sections
53F-4-505 through
53F-4-508, Section
53F-4-518, and Board
rule.
(6)
(a) A provider may charge a fee consistent
with other secondary schools and in accordance with Title 53G, Chapter 7, Part
5, Student Fees, and Rule R277-407.
(b) If a provider intends to charge a fee of
any kind, the provider:
(i) shall notify the
primary school of enrollment with whom the provider has the CCA of the purpose
for fees and amounts of fees;
(ii)
shall provide timely notice to a parent of required fees and fee waiver
opportunities;
(iii) shall post
fees on the provider website and disclose fees in course notes provided to the
Superintendent as part of the provider's annual submission of course
lists;
(iv) shall be responsible
for fee waivers for an eligible student, including materials for a student
designated fee waiver eligible by a student's primary school of
enrollment;
(v) shall satisfy the
requirements of Rule R277-407, as applicable; and
(vi) shall provide fee waivers to home school
or private school students who meet fee waiver eligibility at the provider's
expense.
(7) A
provider shall maintain a student's records and comply with the federal Family
Educational Rights and Privacy Act, Title 53E, Chapter 9, Part 3, Student Data
Protection, and Rule R277-487, including:
(a)
protecting the confidentiality of a student's records and providing a parent
and an eligible student access to records; and
(b) providing a parent or student timely
documentation of and access to evidence and records of educational performance,
including:
(i) test scores;
(ii) grades;
(iii) progress and performance measures; and
(iv) completion of credit.
(8) Except as otherwise provided in this
rule, a provider shall, using processes and applications provided by the
Superintendent within five business days following the 20 school day statutory
period allowed for student withdrawal:
(a)
confirm a student to be in active participation in a course; or
(b) record a student's lack of
confirmation.
(9)
Following confirmation of a student's active participation, a provider shall:
(a) routinely update course records to
reflect student participation as determined by student credit
accruals;
(b) submit a student's
credit and grade to the Superintendent, providing for each included course:
(i) the core code and short course
description provided by the Superintendent associated with the course in
program enrollment applications;
(ii) as necessary, the unique title a
provider utilizes to identify a course to a designated counselor or registrar
at the primary school of enrollment, and the student's parent; and
(c) complete the submissions
required under Subsection (9)(b):
(i) 30 days
after a student satisfactorily completes an online semester or quarter course;
or
(ii) by June 30
annually.
(10)
A provider may not withhold a student's credits, grades, or transcripts from
the student, parent, or the student's school of enrollment for any
reason.
(11)
(a) If a provider suspends or expels a
student from an online course for disciplinary reasons, the provider shall
notify the student's primary LEA of enrollment by placing the student on
disciplinary withdrawal.
(b) A
provider is responsible for due process procedures for student disciplinary
actions in the provider's online program.
(c)
(i) A
provider shall notify the Superintendent of a student's administrative
withdrawal, if the student is inactive in a course for more than ten days,
using forms and processes developed by the Superintendent for this
purpose.
(ii) If a student, parent,
or counselor fails to request reinstatement following notification under
Subsection (c)(i), the provider shall formally withdraw the student within 72
hours and notify the student, parent, and primary LEA of the
action.
(12) If
a student entitled to services under the IDEA is removed from an online
program, the primary LEA shall work with the student and the student's parents
to identify alternatives to provide a free and appropriate public
education.
(13)
(a) A provider shall provide to the
Superintendent a list of course options using USBE-provided course
codes.
(b) Beginning with the
2024-25 school year, a provider may only code program courses as semester or
quarter courses.
(c) A provider
shall update the provider's course offerings annually.
(14) A provider shall serve a student on a
first-come-first-served basis who desires to take courses and who is designated
eligible by a primary school of enrollment if desired courses have space
available.
(15) A provider shall
maintain and provide records and systems as part of a public online school or
program, including:
(a) financial and
enrollment records;
(b) information
for accountability, program monitoring, and audit purposes; and
(c) providing timely documentation of student
participation, enrollment, educator credentials, and additional data for other
purposes including giving a student's primary school of enrollment access to
the student's records to appropriately support the student.
(16) A provider shall maintain the
following for at least five calendar years after the student graduates:
(a) test scores;
(b) student grades;
(c) completion of credit; and
(d) other progress and performance
measures.
(17)
(a) A provider is responsible for complete
and timely submissions of record changes to executed CCAs and submission of
other reports and records as required by the Superintendent.
(b) A provider shall update CCAs to the
nearest credit value earned by June 30 annually.
(c) A provider may only maintain an CCA open
after June 30 if a student remains actively engaged in coursework, meeting the
provider's standard of active participation.
(18)
(a)
Before the inception of coursework, as a component of the provider's initial
communication of provisions of the provider's standard of active participation,
a provider shall inform a student and the student's parent of travel
expectations to fulfill course requirements.
(b) Travel expectations to fulfill course
requirements as described in Subsection (18)(a) include a requirement to
participate in a proctored assessment or other proctored or assessment
requirement outside a student's home, including travel to participate in
statewide assessments at a secure testing site.
(19)
(a) An
LEA may participate in the program as a provider by offering a school or
program consistent with Rule R277-115 to a Utah student in grades 6-12 who is
not a resident student of the LEA and a regularly-enrolled student of the LEA
consistent with Sections
53F-4-501 and
53F-4-503.
(b) An LEA program created in accordance with
Subsection (20)(a) for serving students in grades 9-12 online must partner with
an accredited school and shall:
(i) report
grades and credit earned by a student to the Superintendent; and
(ii) record educator assignments consistent
with Rule R277-484.
(20) A program school or program shall:
(a) be accredited consistent with Rule
R277-410;
(b) have a designated
administrator who meets the requirements of Rule R277-309;
(c) ensure that a student who qualifies for a
fee waiver receives services offered by and through the public schools
consistent with Section
53G-7-504 and Rule
R277-407;
(d) maintain student
records consistent with:
(ii) Rule R277-487;
(iii) this rule; and
(e) shall offer course work:
(i) aligned with Utah Core standards as
described in Sections
53E-4-202,
53F-4-505, and
53F-4-514;
(ii) in accordance with program requirements;
and
(iii) in accordance with Rules
R277-700 and R277-404;
(f) may not issue transcripts under the name
of a third party provider; and
(g)
shall record teaching assignments by November 15 annually consistent with Rule
R277-484 and Section R277-312-3, either directly or
through a partner school in accordance with Subsection
(20)(b).
(21) An LEA that
offers an online program or school as a provider under the program:
(a) shall employ only educators licensed in
Utah as teachers;
(b) may not
employ an individual whose educator license has been suspended or
revoked;
(c) shall require
employees to meet requirements of Title 53G, Chapter 11, Part 4, Background
Checks, before the provider offering services to a student;
(d) may only employ teachers who meet the
requirements of Section
53E-6-201, Section
53F-4-504, and Rule
R277-309;
(e) for a provider that
provides an online course, including to a private or home school student, shall
agree to administer and, before approval as an authorized online course
provider, have the capacity to proctor and carry out the applicable statewide
assessments, consistent with Sections
53E-4-302,
53F-2-103, and Rule
R277-404;
(f) in accordance with
Section R277-726-8, shall provide
services to a student consistent with requirements of the IDEA, Section 504,
and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 for multilingual
students;
(g) shall submit CCAs to
the Superintendent before the provider initiating instruction of a
student;
(h) may not begin offering
instruction to a student until the Superintendent issues a notice of
enrollment, and the provider follows other enrollment procedures as prescribed
by the Superintendent for the student, and for each course the student
participates in; and
(i) shall
agree that funds may be withheld by the Superintendent consistent with Sections
53F-4-505,
53F-4-506,
53F-4-508, and
53F-4-518.
(22) A provider shall post required
information online on the provider's individual website including required
assessment and accountability information.
(23) A provider contracting with a third
party to provide educational services to students participating with the
provider through the Statewide Online Education Program shall develop a written
monitoring plan to supervise the activities and services provided by the third
party provider to ensure:
(a) a third party
provider is complying with:
(i) federal
law;
(ii) state law; and
(iii) Board rules;
(b) curriculum provided by a third party
provider is aligned with the Board's core standards and rules;
(c) a third party provider has access to
curriculum for alignment and adjustment to ensure the curriculum is consistent
with the Utah core standards in Rule R277-700 and a Board approved core
code;
(d) supervision of third
party facilitation by an educator licensed in Utah:
(i) assigned by the provider; and
(e) consistent with
the LEA's administrative records retention schedule, maintenance of
documentation of the LEA's supervisory activities.
(24) A provider shall offer courses
consistent with standards outlined in an applicable Statewide Services
Agreement, which may be updated or amended to reflect changes in law, rule, or
recommended practice.
(25) All
authorized online course providers are subject to the same approval and annual
performance review as described for a certified online course provider in
Section R277-726-11 while utilizing the
applicable applications for an authorized online course provider described in
Subsections R277-726-3(1)(a) and
(b).
(26) A provider utilizing a third party shall
establish contractual and procedural safeguards:
(a) retaining legal and procedural authority
to open coursework to a participating student only upon issuance of a notice of
enrollment regarding a particular course and credit;
(b) signifying the provider's authority to
interact instructionally with a student not regularly-enrolled in an LEA, but
participating in SOEP courses with approval of the student's primary LEA of
enrollment; and
(c) including
acceptance of financial responsibility by a primary LEA of enrollment.
(27) A provider is not
required to independently verify:
(a) early
graduation status; or
(b) that high
school courses taken through the Statewide Online Education Program did not
replace Middle School courses.
(28)
(a) A
provider shall adhere to requirements to remain certified and in good standing
within the program, including:
(b)
before providing services to students, ensuring that 100% of all educators
assigned as teacher of record for all course sections shall be appropriately
licensed, endorsed and aligned with core code describing course assignment;
and
(c) complying with requirements
applicable to an authorized online course provider described in this Rule
R277-726, including the requirement to maintain a course completion rate of at
least 80%.
(29) If the
Superintendent finds that an authorized online course provider is out of
compliance with Subsection (28), the Superintendent shall provide the provider
with a list of violations and a reasonable timeline for provider to cure the
non-compliance.
(30) If an
authorized online course provider fails to correct a violation identified under
Subsection (29) within the time provided, the Superintendent may remove the
provider from participation in the program.
Notes
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