Section 392-550-025 - Alternative learning experience requirements(1)Written student learning plan.(a) Each student participating in an alternative learning experience must have a written student learning plan developed and approved by a certificated teacher that is designed to meet the student's individual educational needs.(b) A certificated teacher must have responsibility and accountability for each course specified in the plan, including supervision and monitoring, and evaluation and documentation of the student's progress.(c) The written student learning plan may be developed with assistance from the student, the student's parents, or other interested parties. For students whose written student learning plan includes only online courses, the written student learning plan may be developed and approved by a certificated teacher or a school-based support staff.(d) The written student learning plan must include the following elements: (i) A beginning and ending date for the student's alternative learning experience courses;(ii) An estimate by a certificated teacher of the average number of hours per school week the student will engage in learning activities to meet the requirements of the written student learning plan. This estimate must consider only the time the student will engage in learning activities necessary to accomplish the learning goals and performance objectives specified in the written student learning plan;(iii) For online courses and remote courses, a description of how weekly contact requirements will be fulfilled;(iv)(A) A description of each alternative learning experience course or course work included as part of the learning plan, including specific learning goals, performance objectives, and learning activities for each course, written in a manner that facilitates monthly evaluation of student progress. The description must clearly identify the requirements a student must meet to successfully complete the course or course work. Courses or course work must be identified using course names, codes, and designators specified in the most recent Comprehensive Education Data and Research System data manual published by the office of superintendent of public instruction;(B) This requirement may be met through the use of individual course syllabi or other similarly detailed descriptions of learning requirements;(v) Identification of the certificated teacher responsible for each course or course work included as part of the plan;(vi) Identification of all instructional materials that will be used to complete the learning plan;(vii) A description of the timelines and methods for evaluating student progress toward the learning goals and performance objectives specified in the learning plan; and(viii) Identification of whether each alternative learning experience course or course work meets one or more of the state essential academic learning requirements or grade-level expectations and any other academic goals, objectives, and learning requirements defined by the school district or charter school.(2)Contact. Each student enrolled in an alternative learning experience must have one of the following methods of contact with a certificated teacher at least once a school week until the student completes all course objectives or otherwise meets the requirements of the learning plan:(a) Direct personal contact must:(i) Be for the purposes of instruction, review of assignments, testing, evaluation of student progress, or other learning activities or requirements identified in the written student learning plan;(ii) Be related to an alternative learning experience course or course work identified in the written student learning plan; and(iii) At minimum include a two-way exchange of information between a certificated teacher and the student. All required direct personal contact must be documented.(b) In-person instructional contact must be: (i) For the purposes of actual instruction, review of assignments, testing, evaluation of student progress, or other learning activities or requirements identified in the written student learning plan; and(ii) Related to an alternative learning experience course identified in the written student learning plan.(c) Synchronous digital instructional contact may be accomplished in a group setting between the teacher and multiple students. The synchronous digital contact must be:(i) For the purposes of actual instruction, review of assignments, testing, evaluation of student progress, or other learning activities or requirements identified in the written student learning plan; and(ii) Related to an alternative learning experience course or course work identified in the written student learning plan.(3)Monthly progress evaluation.(a) The educational progress of each student enrolled in an alternative learning experience must be evaluated at least once each calendar month of enrollment by a certificated teacher or, for students whose written student learning plans include only online classes, school-based support staff in accordance with this section.(b) The results of each evaluation must be communicated to the student or, if the student is in grades K-8, both the student and the student's parent. For students whose written student learning plan includes only online courses, a school-based support staff may communicate the progress evaluation to the student.(c) Educational progress must be evaluated according to the following requirements:(i) Each student's educational progress evaluation must be based on the learning goals and performance objectives defined in the written student learning plan;(ii) The evaluation of satisfactory progress must be conducted in a manner consistent with school district or charter school student evaluation or grading procedures, and be based on the professional judgment of a certificated teacher;(iii) In the event that the monthly evaluation is not completed within the calendar month being evaluated, the evaluation must be completed within five school days of the end of the month. Districts and charter schools must not claim funding for the subsequent month for a student who was not evaluated within that time frame;(iv) The progress evaluation conducted by a certificated teacher must include direct personal contact with the student with the following exceptions:(A) After an initial month of satisfactory progress, in subsequent months where progress continues to be satisfactory the evaluation may be communicated to the student without direct personal contact.(B) Direct personal contact is not required as a part of the evaluation conducted in the final month of the school year if the evaluation takes the form of the delivery of final grades to the student.(v) Based on the progress evaluation, a certificated teacher must determine and document whether the student is making satisfactory progress reaching the learning goals and performance objectives defined in the written student learning plan;(vi)(A) For students whose written student learning plan includes only online courses, school-based support staff, according to school policy and procedures, may use the student's progress grades in the online course or courses to determine whether a student's progress is satisfactory.(B) School-based support staff, following school policy and procedures, may take into account nonacademic factors or local school expectations to finalize the determination of satisfactory progress.(C) The progress grades posted in the learning management system may serve as the documentation of determining satisfactory progress.(4)Intervention plan.(a) If it is determined that the student failed to make satisfactory progress or that the student failed to follow the written student learning plan, an intervention plan must be developed for the student within five school days of the date of the monthly progress evaluation.(b) An intervention plan must be developed, documented, and implemented by a certificated teacher in conjunction with the student and, for students in grades K-8, the student's parent(s). For students whose written student learning plan includes only online courses, the intervention plan may be developed by the school-based support staff in conjunction with the student and certificated teacher and must be approved by the student's online certificated teacher.(c) At minimum, the intervention plan must include at least one of the following interventions: (i) Increasing the frequency or duration of contact with a certificated teacher for the purposes of enhancing the ability of the certificated teacher to improve student learning;(ii) Modifying the manner in which contact with a certificated teacher is accomplished;(iii) Modifying the student's learning goals or performance objectives;(iv) Modifying the number of or scope of courses or the content included in the learning plan.(d) An intervention plan is not required if the evaluation is delivered within the last five school days of the year.(5)Continued enrollment. If after no more than three consecutive calendar months in which it is determined the student is not making satisfactory progress despite documented intervention efforts, a course of study designed to more appropriately meet the student's educational needs must be developed and implemented by a certificated teacher in conjunction with the student and where possible, the student's parent. This may include removal of the student from the alternative learning experience and enrollment of the student in another educational program offered by the school district or charter school.Wash. Admin. Code § 392-550-025
Adopted by WSR 20-15-062, Filed 7/10/2020, effective 8/10/2020Amended by WSR 21-06-082, Filed 3/1/2021, effective 4/1/2021