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An Act To Limit the Number of Students and Prevent the Addition of Grade Levels at Virtual Public Charter Schools
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  20-A MRSA §2404, sub-§4  is enacted to read:
 
4.  Maximum virtual public charter school enrollment.     The total enrollment at all virtual public charter schools authorized by the commission may not exceed the total enrollment at all virtual public charter schools authorized by the commission at the end of the 2018-2019 school year.
Sec. 2. 20-A MRSA §2408, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 414, §5, is amended to read:
 
2. Virtual public charter schools.   The charter contract of a virtual public charter school must require the governing board to:
 
A. Provide each student enrolled in the virtual public charter school with online courses that meet or exceed state standards and all instructional materials required for the student's participation in the school;
 
B. Ensure that the persons who operate the virtual public charter school on a day-to-day basis comply with and carry out all applicable requirements, statutes, regulations, rules and policies of the school;
 
C. Ensure that a parent of each student verifies the number of hours of educational activities completed by the student each school year; and
 
D. Adopt a plan by which the governing board provides:
 
(1) Frequent, ongoing monitoring to ensure and verify that each student is participating in the virtual public charter school, including synchronous contact between teachers and students and between teachers and parents to ensure and verify student participation and learning;
 
(2) Regular instructional opportunities in real time that are directly related to the virtual public charter school's curricular objectives, including, but not limited to, meetings with teachers and educational field trips and outings;
 
(3) Verification of ongoing student attendance in the virtual public charter school;
 
(4) Verification of ongoing student progress and performance in each course as documented by ongoing assessments and examples of student course work; and
 
(5) Administration to all students in a proctored setting of all applicable assessments as required by the State.
 
Nothing in this subsection prohibits a virtual public charter school from reimbursing families of enrolled students for costs associated with their Internet connection for use in the program.
 
Only students enrolled in a virtual public charter school as full-time students may be reported in the virtual public charter school's average pupil count to the department for the purposes of receiving local, state and federal funds.
 
A virtual public charter school authorized by the commission may not expand to serve a grade level not included in the school's initial charter contract or, for a school whose charter was renewed prior to November 1, 2019, the renewed charter contract.
 
SUMMARY
This bill limits total enrollment at all virtual public charter schools authorized by the commission to the total enrollment at the end of the 2018-2019 school year. It also prohibits a virtual public charter school authorized by the commission from expanding to serve a grade level not included in the school's initial charter contract or, for a school whose charter was renewed prior to November 1, 2019, the renewed charter contract.