SECTIONS 51745-51749.3 - California Statutes

EDUCATION CODE

SECTION 51745-51749.3

51745. (a) Commencing with the 1990-91 school year, the governing
board of a school district or a county office of education may offer
independent study to meet the educational needs of pupils in
accordance with the requirements of this article. Educational
opportunities offered through independent study may include, but
shall not be limited to, the following:
(1) Special assignments extending the content of regular courses
of instruction.
(2) Individualized study in a particular area of interest or in a
subject not currently available in the regular school curriculum.
(3) Individualized alternative education designed to teach the
knowledge and skills of the core curriculum. Independent study shall
not be provided as an alternative curriculum.
(4) Continuing and special study during travel.
(5) Volunteer community service activities that support and
strengthen pupil achievement.
(b) Not more than 10 percent of the pupils participating in an
opportunity school or program, or a continuation high school,
calculated as specified by the State Department of Education, shall
be eligible for apportionment credit for independent study pursuant
to this article. A pupil who is pregnant or is a parent who is the
primary caregiver for one or more of his or her children shall not be
counted within the 10 percent cap.
(c) No individual with exceptional needs, as defined in Section
56026, may participate in independent study, unless his or her
individualized education program developed pursuant to Article 3
(commencing with Section 56340) of Chapter 4 of Part 30 specifically
provides for that participation.
(d) No temporarily disabled pupil may receive individual
instruction pursuant to Section 48206.3 through independent study.
(e) No course included among the courses required for high school
graduation under Section 51225.3 shall be offered exclusively through
independent study.

51745.6. (a) The ratio of average daily attendance for independent
study pupils 18 years of age or less to school district full-time
equivalent certificated employees responsible for independent study,
calculated as specified by the State Department of Education, shall
not exceed the equivalent ratio of pupils to full-time certificated
employees for all other educational programs operated by the school
district. The ratio of average daily attendance for independent study
pupils 18 years of age or less to county office of education
full-time equivalent certificated employees responsible for
independent study, to be calculated in a manner prescribed by the
State Department of Education, shall not exceed the equivalent ratio
of pupils to full-time certificated employees for all other
educational programs operated by the high school or unified school
district with the largest average daily attendance of pupils in that
county. The computation of those ratios shall be performed annually
by the reporting agency at the time of, and in connection with, the
second principal apportionment report to the Superintendent of Public
Instruction.
(b) Only those units of average daily attendance for independent
study that reflect a pupil-teacher ratio that does not exceed the
ratio described in subdivision (a) shall be eligible for
apportionment pursuant to Section 42238.5, for school districts, and
Section 2558, for county offices of education. Nothing in this
section shall prevent a school district or county office of education
from serving additional units of average daily attendance greater
than the ratio described in subdivision (a), except that those
additional units shall not be funded pursuant to Section 42238.5 or
Section 2558.
(c) The calculations performed for purposes of this section shall
not include either of the following:
(1) The average daily attendance generated by special education
pupils enrolled in special day classes on a full-time basis, or the
teachers of those classes.
(2) The average daily attendance or teachers in necessary small
schools that are eligible to receive funding pursuant to Article 4
(commencing with Section 42280) of Chapter 7 of Part 24.
(d) The pupil-teacher ratio described in subdivision (a) in a
unified school district participating in the class size reduction
program pursuant to Chapter 6.10 (commencing with Section 52120) may,
at the school district's option, be calculated separately for
kindergarten and grades 1 to 6, inclusive, and for grades 7 to 12,
inclusive.
(e) The pupils-to-certificated-employee ratio described in
subdivision (a) may, in a charter school, be calculated by using a
fixed pupils-to-certificated-employee ratio of 25 to one, or by being
a ratio of less than 25 pupils per certificated employee. All
charter school pupils, regardless of age, shall be included in
pupil-to-certificated-employee ratio calculations.

51746. It is the intent of the Legislature that school districts
and county offices of education offering independent study shall
provide appropriate existing services and resources to enable pupils
to complete their independent study successfully and shall ensure the
same access to all existing services and resources in the school in
which the pupil is enrolled pursuant to Section 51748 as is available
to all other pupils in the school. In addition, the services and
resources may include, but need not be limited to, any of the
following:
(a) A designated learning center or study area staffed by
appropriately trained personnel.
(b) The services of qualified personnel to assess the achievement,
abilities, interests, aptitudes, and needs of participating pupils
to determine each of the following:
(1) Whether full-time independent study is the most appropriate
alternative for the pupil being referred.
(2) If the answer to paragraph (1) is affirmative, the
determination of the most appropriate individualized plan and
resources to be made available to pupils enrolled in full-time
independent study.

51747. A school district or county office of education shall not be
eligible to receive apportionments for independent study by pupils,
regardless of age, unless it has adopted written policies, and has
implemented those policies, pursuant to rules and regulations adopted
by the Superintendent of Public Instruction, that include, but are
not limited to, all of the following:
(a) The maximum length of time, by grade level and type of
program, that may elapse between the time an independent study
assignment is made and the date by which the pupil must complete the
assigned work.
(b) The number of missed assignments that will be allowed before
an evaluation is conducted to determine whether it is in the best
interests of the pupil to remain in independent study, or whether he
or she should return to the regular school program. A written record
of the findings of any evaluation made pursuant to this subdivision
shall be treated as a mandatory interim pupil record. The record
shall be maintained for a period of three years from the date of the
evaluation and, if the pupil transfers to another California public
school, the record shall be forwarded to that school.
(c) A requirement that a current written agreement for each
independent study pupil shall be maintained on file including, but
not limited to, all of the following:
(1) The manner, time, frequency, and place for submitting a pupil'
s assignments and for reporting his or her progress.
(2) The objectives and methods of study for the pupil's work, and
the methods utilized to evaluate that work.
(3) The specific resources, including materials and personnel,
that will be made available to the pupil.
(4) A statement of the policies adopted pursuant to subdivisions
(a) and (b) regarding the maximum length of time allowed between the
assignment and the completion of a pupil's assigned work, and the
number of missed assignments allowed prior to an evaluation of
whether or not the pupil should be allowed to continue in independent
study.
(5) The duration of the independent study agreement, including the
beginning and ending dates for the pupil's participation in
independent study under the agreement. No independent study agreement
shall be valid for any period longer than one semester, or one-half
year for a school on a year-round calendar.
(6) A statement of the number of course credits or, for the
elementary grades, other measures of academic accomplishment
appropriate to the agreement, to be earned by the pupil upon
completion.
(7) The inclusion of a statement in each independent study
agreement that independent study is an optional educational
alternative in which no pupil may be required to participate. In the
case of a pupil who is referred or assigned to any school, class, or
program pursuant to Section 48915 or 48917, the agreement also shall
include the statement that instruction may be provided to the pupil
through independent study only if the pupil is offered the
alternative of classroom instruction.
(8) Each written agreement shall be signed, prior to the
commencement of independent study, by the pupil, the pupil's parent,
legal guardian, or caregiver, if the pupil is less than 18 years of
age, the certificated employee who has been designated as having
responsibility for the general supervision of independent study, and
all persons who have direct responsibility for providing assistance
to the pupil. For purposes of this paragraph "caregiver" means a
person who has met the requirements of Part 1.5 (commencing with
Section 6550) of the Family Code.

51747.3. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a local
educational agency, including, but not limited to, a charter school,
may not claim state funding for the independent study of a pupil,
whether characterized as home study or otherwise, if the agency has
provided any funds or other thing of value to the pupil or his or her
parent or guardian that the agency does not provide to pupils who
attend regular classes or to their parents or guardians. A charter
school may not claim state funding for the independent study of a
pupil, whether characterized as home study or otherwise, if the
charter school has provided any funds or other thing of value to the
pupil or his or her parent or guardian that a school district could
not legally provide to a similarly situated pupil of the school
district, or to his or her parent or guardian.
(b) Notwithstanding paragraph (1) of subdivision (d) of Section
47605 or any other provision of law, community school and independent
study average daily attendance shall be claimed by school districts,
county superintendents of schools, and charter schools only for
pupils who are residents of the county in which the apportionment
claim is reported, or who are residents of a county immediately
adjacent to the county in which the apportionment claim is reported.
(c) The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall not apportion
funds for reported average daily attendance, through full-time
independent study, of pupils who are enrolled in school pursuant to
subdivision (b) of Section 48204.
(d) In conformity with Provisions 25 and 28 of Section 2.00 of the
Budget Act of 1992, this section is applicable to average daily
attendance reported for apportionment purposes beginning July 1,
1992. The provisions of this section are not subject to waiver by the
State Board of Education, by the State Superintendent of Public
Instruction, or under any provision of Part 26.8 (commencing with
Section 47600).

51747.5. (a) The independent study by each pupil or student shall
be coordinated, evaluated, and, notwithstanding subdivision (a) of
Section 46300, shall be under the general supervision of an employee
of the school district or county office of education who possesses a
valid certification document pursuant to Section 44865 or an
emergency credential pursuant to Section 44300, registered as
required by law.
(b) School districts and county offices of education may claim
apportionment credit for independent study only to the extent of the
time value of pupil or student work products, as personally judged in
each instance by a certificated teacher.

51748. School districts and county offices of education shall not
be eligible to receive apportionment for independent study attendance
by any pupil who is not otherwise identified in the written records
of the district or county board by grade level, program placement,
and the school in which he or she is enrolled.

51749. The Superintendent of Public Instruction, upon the next
revision of the California Basic Educational Data System, or its
equivalent, following the effective date of this article, shall
include all data collection elements necessary to compile an annual
statewide profile of pupils participating in independent study,
including data on the number and percentage of pupils pursuing their
coursework through independent study who successfully complete the
requirements for a high school diploma.

51749.3. The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall establish
rules and regulations for the purposes of implementing this article.