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Distance Learning Policy

What Do We Do?

School District No. 27 provides a classroom alternative in the form of online learning for students K - 7. These courses are Ministry of Education certified courses delivered by B.C. certified teachers. Online Learning through our school district is different than homeschooling which is typically led by a home education (a parent or guardian).  For a full explanation please see "Classroom alternatives."

Are You an Online Learner?

We all know that online learning is moving into the day-to-day experiences of many people.  Do you want to get a boating license, host a special event, or does your job require you to learn a new product?  These are just a few examples of where learning online will be required and building the skills necessary to learn online is crucial.  It is also important to acknowledge that not all people are at the right time in their life to start an online course.  

GROW (Graduation Routes Other Ways), has been operating since 1991, and follows the guidelines of Online/Distributed Schools in British Columbia.  The guidelines are as listed below, and if you have any questions, please contact the school Principal.

Online Learning Policy

Rationale or Purpose of Policy

Changes to the Independent School Act regarding online learning come into effect on July 1, 2021. The 2021/2022 school year will be an interim year in the implementation of changes to online learning in the Province.  A new, comprehensive online learning policy and a procedures guide are under development with Indigenous rightsholders and stakeholders and will be fully implemented on July 1, 2022.  For the 2021/2022 school year, the former distributed learning policies have been replaced by interim online learning policies that will be in effect until the new online learning policies are implemented on July 1, 2022.

Policy in Full

Online learning is a method of instruction that relies primarily on communication between students and teachers by means of the internet.

Online Learning (OL) provides another choice for learning within the current K-12 system. Online learning takes place outside of the regular classrooms, typically when a student is at a distance from the teacher and from the school building. Students may opt for online learning when they live in remote locations, due to scheduling conflicts for required courses or sometimes because of learning preferences. Students in OL programs have increased flexibility in determining their academic schedule as school calendars are not bound by time and space. Students may enroll at any time during the school year, subject to school policy.

Special Needs Funding for Online Learning Students

When students with special needs are enrolled in more than one school, special needs supplementary funding will be made available to the school at which the students are taking most of their educational program or the majority of their courses. In situations where students with special needs are enrolled with more than one school administered by the same Authority or cross enrolled with another Authority or a Board, the Ministry expects that schools will work together to develop and support the student’s Individual Education Plan (IEP) by taking a holistic approach, including consideration of services each school may need to provide to support the IEP. 

Sharing of Student Records

In some cases, students will cross enroll in DL courses with an independent school authority and a public board of education at the same time and have records with both. When this occurs, independent school authorities and boards of education must provide the others with access to information in student records necessary for each to satisfactorily perform its obligations under the Independent School Act or the School Act.

Payments to Third Party Service Providers

As per the Guidelines for independent school authorities operating an online learning school - third party services and resources,  if an authority uses a third party to provide educational services or learning support, materials, or resources to learners, the Ministry expects the authority to do the following:

  • Ensure that the educational services, materials, and resources are part of the educational program supervised by an authority employee who is a BC certified teacher or Letter of Permission holder.
  • Pay only the third party directly and not the parent, learner, or any other person.
  • Ensure that parents and third-party service providers clearly understand their roles and responsibilities for student safety and security.
  • Clearly describe the authority’s responsibility to provide the program outlined in a student’s learning plan or Individual Education Plan separately from additional services the student may receive from the third-party service provider.

If an authority uses a third party to provide educational services or learning support, materials, or resources to learners, the Ministry expects the authority to pay only up to a maximum of $600 per FTE in grades K-12 for reimbursements to third party resources and service providers.

This limit to the amount of the operating grant to be used for third party resourcing would not apply to:

Limits to financial assistance for learners or their parents 

  • The Ministry expects that independent school authorities will not provide financial payments or reimbursements to learners or their parents, nor use any amount of money budgeted to support an educational program as an incentive to have a learner enroll in an online learning program or course.
  • An independent school authority may provide financial assistance to learners or their parents for a portion of the one-time internet connection fees, if and only if the learner requires an internet connection to participate in an educational program delivered in whole or in part through online learning. Connection means cost of the household connection to the internet. It does not include ongoing maintenance.
  • An independent school authority may lend, but not give, equipment with an asset value (such as a computer that is required for participation in an online learning program or course) to learners or to parents or families of learners.

Enrollment

Criteria For full-time Grades K-7 Who are Not Cross Enrolled

Online learning management systems or school files for full-time Grade K - 7 students must contain dated evidence that a student is actively participating on or before the dates listed in the Form 1701 Instructions.  The minimum evidence is a student learning plan developed by a BC certified teacher or Letter of Permission holder, and a documented commitment from a parent. Additionally, there must be evidence that the student is actively participating three weeks following that date.

Procedures Related to Policy

To receive funding for students in online learning courses or programs, Boards and Authorities must ensure the following procedures are followed, to demonstrate that the students are actively participating. 

BC certified teachers or Letter of Permission holders lead online learning programs, verifiable by learning management system, digital or paper-based evidence such as course or student timetables, course selection forms, registration reports, or information gathered from records and through interviews with teachers and other staff.

For Full-Time Grades K-7 Students Enrolled in Online Learning Who are Not Cross-Enrolled

  • Learning management system, digital or paper-based evidence onsite of a student learning plan on record, signed and dated by the BC certified teacher or Letter of Permission holder and parent (and by the student, if old enough to understand the plan), referring to these elements:
    • The curriculum learning standards and/or outcomes for the program or course(s) or both.
    • Required areas of study for the program or course(s) or both.
    • The BC certified teacher or Letter of Permission holder’s plan for providing learning activities.
    • Learning resources being used to complete the program or course(s) or both.
    • Assessment strategies and standards of performance expected of the student.

For full-time Grades K-7 students enrolled in online learning who are not cross-enrolled:

  • Verification of the student’s active participation in the educational program must be in evidence three weeks after the dates listed in the 1701 enrolment instructions. For example, active participation for a Grade 3 student must be in evidence by October 21 for September 30th data collection.
  • Learning management system, digital or paper-based evidence includes dated examples of student work, assessment data, and teacher gradebook or other tracking system entries. These entries reflect student engagement in a significant portion of the program.
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