Virtual Learning

Needs assessment

Since 2020, the California legislature has told school districts what their programming options and requirements were going to be for the upcoming school year at the time the budget bill passed (usually early July). Those requirements change each year, forcing school administrators to create program options for the Fall within two months and without most of their teaching staff. Within the context of legislative requirements and the mission a district has established for itself, many questions need answers. What should the district offer? What’s the plan to provide independent study services in the event of a future emergency school closure (a new legal requirement). Beyond any legislated mandates, what does the community demand regarding independent study, and is it the same for all district schools? How will the district ensure English language learners, foster youth, homeless youth, or students working below grade level are properly served? And how will equal access to free appropriate public education (FAPE) for students with special needs be provided? Few school districts have the internal resources to address each of these questions on their own. Each district will be unique in how it responds, but there are common threads, and F3 attorneys have the broad experience to help every district determine its own right answers.

Resources assessment

Adequately staffing in-person education can be challenging enough, and independent study programs add to that challenge. How will the district staff both mandatory and voluntary programs? Which attendance staff will support these programs? Are the district’s collective bargaining agreements impacted, and do they include limitations? How can districts propose changes? Answering such questions requires the experience and perspective of attorneys who have helped hundreds of districts of all kinds throughout the state find the right answers.

Program design/implementation

Independent study programs in California have legal requirements, as do home and hospital instruction programs (HHI). Districts need to serve students with special needs in a legally compliant and student-centered manner while still providing equal access. Adequate documentation and online data management systems must be in place. Auditors need specific information maintained in specific ways. Forms must be legally compliant. And perhaps above all, staff needs training in all of these requirements – which often change. It’s our job at F3 to understand all of these requirements and advise/guide our clients in how best to meet them.

Attendance accounting/ADA/funding

The amount of funding a school district gets is based upon its “average daily attendance” (ADA), when students actually attend school. Annually legislated independent study requirements govern how school districts count attendance for funding purposes. Independent study has historically been fraught with audit-findings and problems with ADA apportionment because there are so many compliance details that can trip districts up. F3 has always been there to help districts understand the complexities of compliance and to help implement needed changes within tight time constraints. In addition to helping clients set up their independent study programs to ensure full ADA capture, F3 can also help respond to a negative audit finding and/or with after-the-fact audit appeals if needed.