Education Management Group's Statement of Principles for a Statewide Digital Learning Policy 1. California should embrace online learning as a way to strengthen and expand educational opportunities for all students. o Children learn in different ways and should have many options for learning, including traditional, online and blended learning. Online learning provides access to instruction and resources that California cannot afford to replicate on a traditional school-by-school basis. Online learning provides teaching and learning that extends beyond the school day and is not limited to a school site. o o 2. Online learning must be held to the same standards as traditional classroom-based education. o Curriculum and assessments linked to state academic content standards for purposes of accountability. A public process for approval of online instructional content, including digital textbooks. Professional development provided for teachers and administrators that supports high quality instruction and instructional leadership. Online instruction offering quality learning interactions between student and instructor, among students and between students, and curriculum both in asynchronous and synchronous modes. Online instruction creates the opportunity for a student-centered, personalized learning environment appropriately paced to allow students to master concepts and leads to students becoming independent learners. Teachers remain an integral part of online and blended learning options for students. o o o o o November 4, 2011 Page 1 3. A statewide policy must include all appropriate learning options for different student populations. o Special education students, dropout recovery, Advanced Placement course work, English Language learners, rural schools with little access to qualified teachers in some subject areas must all be acknowledged in any statewide policy. Career Technical Education course work online should also be available to students and teachers, as well as courses that accommodate multiple learning styles and intelligences. o 4. School Districts should have flexibility in how online programs are implemented and regulated. o The task force should examine existing laws and regulations that act as barriers to online learning for students and eliminate them. (seat time, student/teacher ratio, geography, independent study, county service limitations, ADA credit, UC A-G credit limitations, paper-based record requirements etc.) 5. A funding mechanism that is appropriate for online learning should be adopted and equal access must be provided for all of California's six million students. o Online learning should be held accountable locally just as traditional classroom-based learning must ensure that all state education resources are utilized appropriately. Funding will be needed for infrastructure, computers, laptops, tablets or other electronic devices which allow access to online learning and technology supports, including staff, for online learning to take place equitably. Supporting infrastructure will be necessary, not just for access to online resources, but for access to people and participation in online learning communities offering a platform on which developers can build and tailor applications. o o 6. Online learning programs should be outcome-based for purposes of accountability. o Provide assessments that measure student knowledge and skills, guide student development, and allow meaningful evaluation of student work. Reward outcome-based student performance when coursework is not just completed but completed successfully as in real learning outcomes that can be verified. o November 4, 2011 Page 2 o Base outcomes on student growth over time and not on the current assessment system where time is the constant and achievement the variable. (Achievement should be the constant and time the variable.) Schools should identify appropriate alternatives for students when a student is not making academic progress through an online course. o 7. Statewide online learning policy should include a thorough examination of security and privacy issues related to students, teachers and schools. o Current technologies should ensure security in attendance, learning and accountability metrics in ways that meet or exceed traditional classroom-based programs. Current technology should ensure student privacy equal to or better than traditional paper records that are subject to loss, destruction or improper review by other students. Digital instruction should provide teachers, administrators, students and parents with data that shows lesson completion, test scores, lesson attempts and actual learner responses. o o The Education Management Group (EMG) represents all statewide management groups, including school boards (CSBA), school administrators (ACSA), county superintendents (CCSESA), school business officials (CASBO), urban, suburban and small school district associations, 131 school districts, and 16 county offices of education. November 4, 2011 Page 3