(a) The Department shall annually review and approve full-time and part-time virtual education programs, and the specific courses to be offered, which together shall constitute the Wyoming virtual education program.
(b) A district must seek approval to operate as a full-time virtual education provider, a part-time virtual education provider, or both a full- and part-time virtual education provider, regardless of whether the district intends to offer virtual education courses to students enrolled within the district or to students enrolled in other Wyoming districts, or both.
(c) Unless offering one or more virtual education courses as part of its educational program, a district is not required to seek approval to operate as a virtual education provider if one or more students enrolled in the district is concurrently enrolled with a district that is an approved part-time virtual education provider.
(d) Subject to the requirements established in this rule, as well as other applicable state and local laws and regulations, a district that seeks approval as a full- or part-time virtual education program provider may do so with the intent to offer one or more virtual education courses of the following types: - (i) A course that meets the definition of virtual education pursuant to Section 2(o) of this rule and that is designed and delivered by the district utilizing a virtual education teacher employed by the district to provide course instruction;
- (ii) A course that meets the definition of virtual education pursuant to Section 2(o) of this rule and that is procured from a vendor, which may be taught by a virtual education teacher provided by the vendor, and which may be a vendor operating in-state or out-of-state, or a Wyoming post-secondary institution; or,
- (iii) A combination of district- and vendor-provided courses as described in paragraphs (i) and (ii) above.
(e) For School Year 2017-2018 and each year thereafter, prospective virtual education program providers shall submit a letter of intent to the Department by May 1 applying for inclusion in the Wyoming virtual education program and to be considered for the succeeding school year. The letter of intent shall provide: - (i) Information on the district's intention to operate as a full-time virtual education provider, a part-time virtual education provider, or both a full- and part-time virtual education provider;
- (ii) Information on the district's intention to limit student participation in its full- and/or part-time virtual education program to only students already enrolled in the district or to also make participation available to students enrolled in other Wyoming districts;
- (iii) A virtual education program overview that describes general information such as the program's title, administrative contacts, method(s) of delivery, maximum allowed student to teacher ratios and instructor's course load, and proposed course offerings and capacity; and,
- (iv) A signed assurance statement maintaining that the letter of intent has been approved by the local board and the district possesses the necessary financial, personnel, and technical infrastructure capacity to effectively operate the proposed virtual education program.
(f) The Department will review all letters of intent submitted for consideration and approve only those from districts that have been accredited by the State Board pursuant to W.S. 21-2-304(a)(ii) and for which there is no evidence bringing into question the district's assurance that it possesses the necessary financial, personnel, and technical infrastructure capacity to effectively operate the proposed virtual education program. Following review, the Department may request additional information and may recommend that a district make changes to its letter of intent. If a letter of intent is denied, the district may seek reconsideration on the basis of new or additional information or other revisions made to the letter.
(g) After the approval of the letter of intent, the prospective virtual education program provider shall submit a program application created from Department-approved templates and in accordance with any virtual education program guidelines published by the Department. The application shall provide: - (i) A course evaluation narrative that describes:
- (A) The method(s) of course procurement, if applicable; and,
- (B) Procedures for course evaluation.
- (ii) A student accountability narrative that details:
- (A) The enrollment requirements of the student, with information on the enrollment of students within the district and students enrolled by other districts as applicable;
- (B) A description of pre-enrollment consultation requirements, to include:
- (I) A process to verify that the virtual education course(s) is appropriate to the learning capabilities of the individual student; and,
- (II) Required virtual education training, simulations, readiness surveys, or experience prior to the start of class(es);
- (C) For any course that is offered through a part-time, or a full-time virtual education provider in a brick and mortar setting, whether offered by a district to its own students or offered by another district, the anticipated roles and duties of the school in which the student has primary enrollment, which shall include the district's assignment of a learning coach to assist the student, and monitor student progress throughout the duration of the virtual education course(s), assist with data collection and reporting, and communicate with the student's parent or legal guardian as appropriate;
- (D) For any course that is offered through a full-time virtual education provider outside of a brick and mortar setting, the requirements and specific duties to be assigned to a family-designated learning coach, which shall include regular monitoring of student progress, ensuring that any necessary instructional support is provided, assisting with tracking and reporting student participation in virtual education, and other appropriate duties as may be assigned by the provider; and,
- (E) An intervention plan to assist any student not performing satisfactorily or failing to achieve required progress.
- (iii) A virtual education teacher accountability narrative that details:
- (A) The professional development opportunities available to a virtual education teacher, to include:
- (I) Pre-service components which shall be required of all instructors that possess no previous experience teaching within the virtual education medium of their currently assigned course(s). These pre-service components shall be completed prior to the beginning date of the course(s) assigned to that instructor; and,
- (II) Ongoing components of the professional development process required of all virtual education instructors, such as, training and resources, available support materials, coaching or mentoring systems, and other professional learning communities;
- (B) Continual evaluation process of the professional development program(s) that ensure the continuous improvement of the program(s) quality and overall value; and,
- (C) Instructor performance expectations and methods of evaluation to determine and, if necessary, improve the critical aspects of virtual education pedagogy.
- (iv) A learning coach technical assistance and development narrative that describes the support, technical assistance, and professional development that the provider will make available to district-assigned learning coaches, family-designated learning coaches, or both.
(h) The Department may require necessary corrections or improvements before final approval of the program application.
(i) After the approval of the program application, the virtual education program provider shall provide the following information using templates made available by the Department: - (i) A course list with information that includes the course title, description, suggested grade level(s), subject area, course calendar outlining any synchronous requirements, course delivery method, and any other information required by the Department;
- (ii) A course syllabus that outlines the topics, objectives, and other mandatory benchmarks presented throughout the coursework, and information on the alignment of the course to the state content and performance standards;
- (iii) Course participation requirements which shall define the expectations for the interaction of any student enrolled in the course with the virtual education course, and which shall be measurable, recorded, and verified by the virtual education teacher;
- (iv) A description of what a participating student must do to complete the course, including, if permitted, completion prior to the end of the term;
- (v) The measurable participation elements that are required in order to successfully complete the course, which shall include attendance and a description of the party(ies) having primary responsibility for data collection and reporting; and,
- (vi) The amount of tuition for the course if it is available for single course purchase.
(j) Approval of each course shall be determined by the Department based on the information described above and any other information that it requests. Necessary corrections or improvements may be required before final approval.
(k) Any entity that develops a virtual education course to be sold, licensed, or otherwise made available to a Wyoming virtual education provider shall provide the district that is the virtual education provider with any information required by the district, including assurances and evidence that: - (i) The provider is accredited by an appropriate accrediting entity;
- (ii) The provider will comply with all Federal, state, and local requirements regarding data collection, student data privacy, and data security;
- (iii) The course is aligned with the state content and performance standards;
- (iv) The course instructor meets all requirements established in statute and this rule for a virtual education teacher; and
- (v) Any administrator, tutor, or staff who may have access to any Wyoming virtual education student that is a minor has been required to submit fingerprinting to the provider for the purpose of obtaining state or national criminal history record information before assuming any role related to a Wyoming virtual education course.
206-41 Wyo. Code R. § 41-3