As part of its Reset and Restart Guidance, the Ohio Department of Education issued last week a Remote Education Planning document, which works to clarify for school districts whether they need a remote learning plan (pursuant to recent legislation, Ohio House Bill 164), or a blended learning declaration (pursuant to continuing law, ORC 3302.41). The remote learning plan option was included in Ohio House Bill 164 to allow for districts to provide fully virtual instruction during the 2020-2021 school year, and in doing so be deemed to have met the minimum hours of instruction required under Ohio law. This option is akin to what occurred during the end of the 2019-2020 school year, where minimum instructional hours were waived during the period of extended remote learning.
ODE’s guidance provides definitions for “remote learning” and “blended learning,” among other terms, along with a comparison document for the terms. Remote learning occurs when the student and educator are separated by time and/or distance, and thus cannot meet in the traditional classroom setting. Critically, remote learning can take place in digital form (e.g., online), or analog form (e.g., paper packets). “Blended learning” is a more specific learning arrangement that includes a combination of school-based and online learning (not analog learning).
ODE further explains in its guidance that a remote learning plan is needed when: 1) remote learning is a regular and standard component of the instructional program for the whole district, or a certain building within the district; and 2) when remote learning is a component of learning for unplanned occurrences – for example, for temporarily closures to disinfect or for quarantine periods.
A blended learning declaration, on the other hand, is needed when the district’s plan includes a combination of school-based learning and remote online learning for some or all students - for example, where high school grades are being instructed using a mix of in-person and remote learning.
Depending on the reopening plan, districts may submit a remote learning plan for some schools and a blended learning declaration of others. However, there should be no overlap of plans.
ODE further provides examples of reopening plans, and whether a blended learning declaration or remote learning plan is required. Districts should review these examples, as they are most helpful in determining which documents should be submitted to ODE. No district should move forward with the 2020-2021 school year without giving due consideration to this issue of remote plans/blended learning declarations, to ensure that hours of remote and/or blended instruction count toward state minimums.
Remote learning plans must be submitted to ODE no later than August 21, 2020. They must include the following:
A description of how student instructional needs will be determined and documented;
The method to be used for determining competency, granting credit and promoting students to a higher grade level;
The school’s attendance requirements, including how the school will document participation in learning opportunities;
A statement describing how student progress will be monitored;
A description as to how equitable access to quality instruction will be ensured;
A description of the professional development activities that will be offered to teachers.
A remote learning plan form is provided here, and a remote learning plan checklist is provided here.
Blended learning declarations must be submitted to ODE by November 1, 2020. For districts with blended learning models, they must adopt policies and/or procedures that address each of the following issues:
Means of personalization of student-centered learning models to meet the needs of each student;
The evaluation and review of the quality of online curriculum delivered to students.
Assessment of each participating student’s progress through the curriculum. Students shall be permitted to advance through each level of the curriculum based on demonstrated competency/mastery of the material. (ORC 3302.41(B)(3));
The assignment of a sufficient number of teachers to ensure a student has an appropriate level of interaction to meet the student’s personal learning goals. Each participating student shall be assigned to at least one teacher of record. A school or classroom that implements blended learning cannot be required to have more than one teacher for every 125 students. (ORC 3302.41(B)(1));
The method by which each participating student will have access to the digital learning tools necessary to access the online or digital content. (ORC 3302.41(B)(2));
The means by which each school shall use a filtering device or install filtering software that protects against internet access to materials that are obscene or harmful to juveniles on each computer provided to or made available to students for instructional use. The school shall provide such device or software at no cost to any student who uses a device obtained from a source other than the school;
The means by which the school will ensure that teachers have appropriate training in the pedagogy of the effective delivery of on-line or digital instruction. (ORC 3302.41(B)(5));
A school is exempt from school year hourly requirements established in ORC 3313.48(A) to the extent that a school alters the hours that it is open for instruction in order to accommodate blended learning opportunities that apply to all students. (ORC 3302.14(B)(4)).
The ODE guidance also includes an FAQ section. Among those FAQs is an explanation that, for districts that submitted a blended learning declaration prior to remote learning being an option under HB 164 or otherwise, such districts can revoke their blended learning declaration. Directions for doing that are provided in the FAQs.