Section 4.33.421. Correspondence study program requirements.

	(a)  An individual learning plan required under AS 14.03.300 must provide for  
		(1)  monitoring of each student by the assigned certificated teacher; the monitoring must include at least monthly teacher-student or teacher-parent contact for a student who has obtained an achievement level that did not meet standards on the most recent administration of the statewide standards-based assessments under 4 AAC 06.710 - 4 AAC 06.790 and quarterly reviews of a student's work or progress in the individual learning plan; the district must maintain a record of the contact required under this paragraph;   
		(2) a grade, or other determination that the student has met the standards for a course, determined and assigned by the certificated teacher who is responsible for the course; the plan may provide for review and consideration of any recommendations submitted by the student or the student's parents;  
		(3)  a transcript that includes the source of any course taken by the student that was not offered or approved by the governing body of the district, or, in the case of a program that is a charter school, by the charter school, and for which no public money was provided; the transcript must note whether the student's mastery of the content of the course was approved by the district as meeting a requirement for graduation; and  
		(4)  a signed agreement between the assigned certificated teacher and at least one parent of each student that verifies that  
			(A) the student and parent have the same right to access the district appeal process as students and parents in the district's other programs; and   
			(B) the textbooks or other curriculum materials are appropriate for the student and the course of study is appropriate for the student as outlined in the individual learning plan.  
	(b)  In addition to meeting the requirements set out in AS 14.03.300 and this section, an individual learning plan for a student who has obtained an achievement level that did not meet standards on the most recent administration of the statewide standards-based assessments under 4 AAC 06.710 - 4 AAC 06.790 must identify strategies to move the student toward meeting standards in the related subject.  
	(c)   For each course offered for credit by the correspondence study program, the program shall assign a certificated teacher who has the primary responsibility for the course.  
	(d)  In accordance with AS 14.07.050, AS 14.08.111(9), and AS 14.14.090(7), a correspondence study program that is not a charter school shall use curriculum materials, including textbooks and other instructional aids, that have been approved by the district, are of the same quality as those materials that the district offers in the district's other programs, and are in compliance with AS 14.03.090 and AS 14.18.060. A program that is a charter school shall review and approve all curriculum materials for compliance with AS 14.03.090 and AS 14.18.060.  
	(e)  An employee of the district, including a certificated staff member, may not advocate religious, partisan, sectarian, or denominational doctrine as part of the employee's instructional or other duties. Nothing in this subsection prevents a parent from providing supplemental instruction to the parent's own child using materials of the parent's choice, if the materials were not purchased with money provided by the department or district.  
	(f)  The district shall require students to participate in the statewide student assessment program as required under 4 AAC 06.710 - 4 AAC 06.790. The correspondence study program shall  
		(1) provide for an ongoing assessment plan that includes statewide assessments required for public schools; and  
		(2) follow the requirements of 4 AAC 06.765 for test security, by  
			(A)  providing a secure testing facility to administer all testing requirements of the assessment program; or  
			(B)  entering into agreements with districts and schools where the testing is administered that allow correspondence study program students to participate in testing at that location.  
	(g)  A district that offers a correspondence study program shall have an open enrollment policy for the program for the entire school year. However, a program that is a charter school may limit its enrollment in accordance with AS 14.03.265.  
	(h)  A correspondence study program may not pay for or provide money for services or materials that do not reasonably relate to the delivery of the students' instructional needs. Textbooks, curriculum materials, school supplies, tutoring services, athletic equipment, and technology expenses may be approved by the certificated teacher who has primary responsibility for the course. Funding for other materials or services may be approved only by the correspondence program director or the director's trained designee, and the valid instructional purpose served by the expenditure must be noted in the student's individual learning plan. Business managers or other administrative personnel who are not certificated under 4 AAC 12.305 or 4 AAC 12.345 may process receipts, reimbursement requests, or other paperwork related to expenditures or fund account activity, but may not fulfill the responsibilities of certificated teachers, program directors, or trained designees as set out in this subsection.  
	(i)  A correspondence study program, or a parent through a fund account under 4 AAC 33.422, may contract with a private individual to provide tutoring to a student in a subject described in 4 AAC 04.140, fine arts, music, or physical education, if  
		(1) the instruction is part of the student's individual learning plan under AS 14.03.300 and (a) of this section; and  
		(2) the tutor is not vested with the primary responsibility to plan, instruct, or evaluate the learning of the student in the subject.  

Authorities

14.03.090;14.03.300;14.03.320;14.07.020;14.07.030;14.07.050;14.07.060;14.08.111;14.14.090;14.17.430;14.30.010

Notes

Reference

4 AAC 33.422

Authority

AS 14.03.090 AS 14.03.300 AS 14.03.320 AS 14.07.020 AS 14.07.030 AS 14.07.050 AS 14.07.060 AS 14.08.111 AS 14.14.090 AS 14.17.430 AS 14.30.010

History

Eff. 12/25/2002, Register 164; am 8/6/2004, Register 171; am 2/20/2005, Register 173; am 9/19/2008, Register 187; am 3/6/2015, Register 213; am 4/6/2016, Register 218