Online Schools in Arizona: An Overview

Chris KottermanDeputy Director, Policy Development & Government Relations, ADEOnline Schools in Arizona: An OverviewArizona Online Instruction (AOI)Formerly known as TAPBI (technology assisted project-based instruction), was created by the Legislature in 1998.Both district and charter schools may offer AOI.District schools must be approved by the state board of education, while charters must be approved by the state board for charter schools.The primary relevant statute for this discussion is ARS 15-808.AOI RequirementsThe Arizona State Board for Charter Schools (ASBCS) has developed a rubric to evaluate compliance with the requirements of ARS 15-808 to operate a charter school. By law, the board must evaluate:Depth and breadth of curriculum choices.Variety of educational methodolgies.Safeguards to protect pupils from adult internet content.Availability of filtered internet access for research.Availability of confidential email to protect student info.Availability of experienced faculty.AOI RequirementsExtent to which the school will develop community partnerships.Services that will be offered to developmentally disabled pupils.Grade levels that will be served.Complete rubric: http://asbcs.az.gov/userfiles/file/final-revised-scoring-rubric.pdfAOI AccountabilityAOI schools are responsible to the same academic standards as brick and mortar charters, and all students must be administered and pass AIMS.AOI charters are assigned A-F letter grades and are treated the same as traditional charters under the school accountability system.All new AOI schools are approved on a probationary basis until they can demonstrate academic integrity to ASBCS.Schools that fail to exit probationary status within three years may no longer participate in AOI.

AOI AccountabilityTestingAOI sites are responsible for testing 95% of their students on AIMS.AIMS must be administered in person and proctored by employees of the AOI.When do we talk about the money??

AOI FundingAOI charter sites are funded with both base level and additional assistance funding.For FY2012, this amount is $4,889.69 for grades 1-8 ($3,267.72 Base Level + $1621.97 Additional Assistance) and $5158.10 for grades 9-12($3267.72 BL+ $1890.38 AA).HOWEVER, AOI schools are funded at 95% for a full time student and 85% for a part-time student by law.AOI Funding1-89-12Full TimePart TimeFull TimePart TimeBase Level$3,267.72$3,267.72$3,267.72$3,267.72Add. Assistance$1,621.97$1,621.97$1,890.38$1,890.38Subtotal$4,889.69$4,889.69$5,158.10$5,158.10Percentage95%85%95%85%Total$4,645.21$4,156.24$4,900.20$4,384.39AOI FundingFor now, online schools can generate ADM 24/7/365, while other schools are limited to generating funding within their approved 180-200 day calendar.Therefore, AOI schools are the only institutions that receive funding for summer school students.AOI Challenges

ConcurrencyStatute limits a student to 1.0 ADM across districts, charters, and AOIs regardless of how much time the student is in school.The 1.0 must be apportioned between all entities by ADE school finance.Since AOIs can generate fundable ADM all year, this apportionment is not final until June 30.ConcurrencyFor example:Student attends District A as a full time student for an entire year. (ADM = 1.0)Student takes 1 class at AOI B during the summer. (4 classes = 0.25 ADM)Total ADM generated = 1.25ADE applies limiting as of June 30:District A = 0.75 ADMAOI B = 0.25 ADMWho loses?Academic QualityIn the past couple of years, the issue of ensuring quality among AOI providers has presented a challenge for the department, the state board, and the state board for charter schools.In December 2011, The Arizona Republic ran a 6-day series about questions surrounding online schools. (http://www.azcentral.com/news/education/online-school/)This led to a slew of proposals to change the nature of how online education is funded.Where are We Going?

Where are we going?This session, Legislators have proposed several fixes to the concurrency problem:Prohibit AOIs from generating funding during the summerChange the fiscal year for AOIs to run from May 1-April 30.Prohibit the department from making concurrency adjustments from April 30 to July 1.Sen. Rich Crandall has a bill (SB1259) that would fundamentally alter the payment mechanism for online classes from seat time to a milestone/competency-based approach.

Where are we Going?The Crandall Approach:Limit online courses to core subjects and courses for college credit.Distribute funding to a pupils resident district and have the district distribute the funding as follows:35% on the 30th day of enrollment.50% on completion of the course with a C- or better.15% when the student demonstrates competency on an exam approved by the department.A major potential flaw in this approach is that it leaves the current system intact, in effect creating two.Where are we Going?Online instruction, despite being launched 14 years ago in Arizona, has only really begun to take shape, because it was in pilot status until 2009.There is a fine line between encouraging innovation and providing students with poor options.The department of education continues to struggle with poor student data systems, and is years behind where it needs to be to competently enable 21st-Century learning.Where are we Going?Resolving the concurrency issue will go a long way toward smoothing out this process.The issue of quality will take some time to work through.The department has begun efforts to modernize its data system to handle the demands of 21st Century education policy.$32.5M over 2 yearsSo What?If you want to get into online education, know that:The finance model is likely to shift in the near future.The quality of your programs will be under scrutiny.You will be squabbling with traditional schools over funding for as long as the 1.0 ADM limit is in place.

QuestionsChris KottermanChristopher.Kotterman@azed.gov602-542-3853