Summary of Changes to Independent Study Law

The 2021-22 Budget and subsequent clean-up legislation rewrote Independent Study law, leaving school administrators and teachers scrambling to retool long-standing operations in an already stressful start of a school year. Many are still struggling to understand the recent changes.

To help bring clarity to the field, we’ve compiled below a concise summary of the changes to Independent Study, as implemented by AB 130 and AB 167. Additionally, we have presentation notes provided from a recent ACSA conference for your reference.

Independent Study is required for 2021-22 school year (but not for charter schools). For the 2021-22 school year only, school districts and county offices of education (COEs) are required to offer Independent Study.

• This requirement may be met by contracting with another school district (through an inter-district transfer) or with a COE (not a charter school).
• This requirement for school districts may be waived by the county superintendent if they determine that offering IS would create an unreasonable fiscal burden on the district due to low participation or other extenuating circumstances, and the district does not have the option to enter into an inter-district transfer agreement.
• This requirement for COEs and single-district counties may be waived by the State Superintendent for the same reasons.

Independent Study for Quarantines

For the 2021-22 school year, a local education agency (LEA) will be eligible for apportionments for independent study for pupils who are subject to quarantine or sick with COVID-19. LEAs shall receive apportionments for these pupils for all days they meet all other apportionment requirements of independent study while in quarantine. However, an LEA will receive attendance credit for independent study for a quarantined student only for the period of quarantine mandated pursuant to state and local health guidance or order.

Requirement to notify parents for 2021-22 school year

For the 2021–22 school year only, school districts and COEs shall notify the parents and guardians of all enrolled pupils of their options to enroll their child in in-person instruction or Independent Study during the 2021–22 school year. This notice shall include written information on the local educational agency’s website, including, but not limited to, the right to request a pupil-parent-educator conference meeting before enrollment, pupil rights regarding procedures for enrolling, disenrolling, and reenrolling in independent study, and the synchronous and asynchronous instructional time that a pupil will have access to as part of independent study. If 15 percent or more of the pupils enrolled in an LEA that provides instruction in transitional kindergarten, kindergarten, or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, speak a single primary language other than English, as determined from the census data submitted to the CDE in the preceding year, the written information shall, in addition to being written in English, be written in that primary language.

Requires parent/pupil/teacher conference, if requested by a student’s parent or guardian, prior to executing Independent Study written agreement

Before signing a written agreement, the parent or guardian of a pupil may request the LEA conduct a phone, video conference, or in-person pupil-parent-educator conference or other school meeting during which the pupil, parent or guardian, and, if requested by the pupil or parent, an education advocate, may ask questions about the educational options, including which curriculum offerings and nonacademic supports that will be available to the pupil in independent study, before making the decision about enrollment or disenrollment in the various options for learning.

Additional Flexibilities for Independent Study Written Agreements in 2021-22 School Year

For the 2021-22 school year only, allows an LEA to collect fully executed written agreements within 30 days of the beginning of independent study instruction, or October 15, whichever date comes later. Additionally, written agreements for an independent study program in 2021-22 can be executed for “any length of time.”

New definitions

For purposes of Independent Study the following definitions will now apply:

• “Live interaction” means interaction between the pupil and LEA classified or certificated staff, and may include peers, provided for the purpose of maintaining school connectedness, including, but not limited to, wellness checks, progress monitoring, provision of services, and instruction. This interaction may take place in person, or in the form of internet or telephonic communication.
• “Local educational agency” means a school district, county office of education, or charter school.
• “Pupil-parent-educator conference” means a meeting involving, at a minimum, all parties who signed the pupil’s written independent study agreement pursuant to subdivision (g) of Section 51747 or the written learning agreement pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 51749.6.
• “Synchronous instruction” means classroom-style instruction or designated small group or one-on-one instruction delivered in person, or in the form of internet or telephonic communications, and involving live two-way communication between the teacher and pupil. Synchronous instruction shall be provided by the teacher of record for that pupil pursuant to Section 51747.5 or the certificated employee of the LEA providing instruction for course-based independent study.

Teacher employed by the LEA

AB 167 doubled down on the California Department of Education’s (CDE’s) position that the teacher judging the time value of pupil work products must be a “teacher employed by the local educational agency.”

Written policies must measure satisfactory educational progress

Independent study written policies must include a description of the level of satisfactory education progress and the number of missed assignments that will be allowed before an evaluation is conducted to determine whether independent study is in the best interests of the pupil.

“Satisfactory educational progress” shall be determined based on all of the following indicators:

• The pupil’s achievement and engagement in the independent study program, as indicated by the pupil’s performance on applicable pupil-level measures of pupil achievement and pupil engagement (assessments, attendance, grad rates, etc.).
• The completion of assignments, assessments, or other indicators that evidence that the pupil is working on assignments.
• Learning required concepts, as determined by the supervising teacher.
• Progressing toward successful completion of the course of study or individual course, as determined by the supervising teacher.

Available courses

Independent Study programs must provide content aligned to grade level standards at a level of quality and intellectual challenge substantially equivalent to in-person instruction. For high schools, this shall include access to all courses offered by the LEA for graduation and approved by the University of California or the California State University as creditable under the A–G admissions criteria.

Tiered re-engagement strategies

Written policies must contain procedures for tiered re-engagement strategies for the following students:

• Pupils who are not generating attendance for more than three schooldays or 60 percent of the instructional days in a school week;
• Pupils who are in violation of their written agreement;
• Pupils who are not attending 10 percent of required minimum instructional time over four continuous weeks of an LEA’s approved instructional calendar; and
• Pupils found not participatory pursuant to Section 51747.5 for more than the greater of three schooldays or 60 percent of the scheduled days of synchronous instruction in a school month, as applicable by grade span.

These re-engagement procedures shall include, but are not necessarily limited to, all of the following:

1. Verification of current contact information for each enrolled pupil.
2. Notification to parents or guardians of lack of participation within one school day of the recording of a non-attendance day or lack of participation.
3. A plan for outreach from the school to determine pupil needs, including connection with health and social services as necessary.
4. A clear standard for requiring a pupil-parent-educator conference to review a pupil’s written agreement, and reconsider the Independent Study program’s impact on the pupil’s achievement and well-being, consistent with satisfactory educational progress.

This does not apply to a pupil enrolled in Independent Study for fewer than 15 days (cumulative for the school year).

New requirements for student interaction

• For pupils in TK through grade 3, written policies must include a plan to provide opportunities for daily synchronous instruction for all pupils throughout the school year.
• For pupils in grades 4 to 8, written policies must include a plan to provide opportunities for both daily live interaction and at least weekly synchronous instruction for all pupils throughout the school year.
• For pupils in grades 9 to 12, written policies must include a plan to provide opportunities for at least weekly synchronous instruction for all pupils throughout the school year.

This does not apply to a pupil enrolled in Independent Study for fewer than 15 days (cumulative for the school year).

Permit swift transition out of Independent Study. Written policies must include a plan to transition pupils whose families wish to return to in-person instruction from Independent Study expeditiously, and, in no case, later than five instructional days.

This does not apply to a pupil enrolled in Independent Study for fewer than 15 days (cumulative for the school year).

Exemption from certain requirements for students enrolled in Independent Study for fewer than 15-days in the school year

Students enrolled in independent study for fewer than 15 days (measured as cumulative days during the school year) are not subject to the requirements for tiered reengagement, synchronous instruction/daily live interaction, and the five-day transfer to in-person instruction. However, once the student enters their 15^th day of independent study instruction in a given school year, an LEA must ensure that the student’s independent study program meets these requirements moving forward.

Supports for students

An LEA’s written Independent Study policies must include a statement detailing the academic and other supports that will be provided to address the needs of pupils who are not performing at grade level, or need support in other areas, such as English learners, individuals with exceptional needs in order to be consistent with the pupil’s individualized education program or plan, pupils in foster care or experiencing homelessness, and pupils requiring mental health supports.

Documenting interaction

An LEA shall document each pupil’s participation in live interaction and synchronous instruction each school day, in whole or in part, for which Independent Study is provided. A pupil who does not participate in scheduled live interaction or synchronous instruction shall be documented as non-participatory for that school day for the purposes of pupil participation reporting and tiered reengagement. An LEA shall maintain written or computer-based evidence of pupil engagement that includes, but is not limited to, a grade book or summary document that, for each class, lists all assignments, assessments, and associated grades. This will be subject to annual audit.

Electronic signature

Written agreements may be signed using an electronic signature that complies with state and federal standards, as determined by the California Department of Education (CDE), that may be a marking that is either computer generated or produced by electronic means and is intended by the signatory to have the same effect as a handwritten signature. The use of an electronic signature shall have the same force and effect as the use of a manual signature if the requirements for digital signatures and their acceptable technology are satisfied.

Course-based Independent Study

The budget also makes amendments to course-based Independent Study statutes to align the new requirements described above. It also requires that the 2021-22 Audit Guide be updated to incorporate the recent changes in law.

Seat-based charter schools and Independent Study for Quarantines

Clarifies that seat-based charter schools that use Independent Study for quarantined students during the 2021-22 school year shall not attribute that attendance towards the law for non-classroom based charter schools and shall not be required to submit a request for a funding determination.

Not waivable by the State Board of Education

None of the new provisions are subject to waiver by the state board, State Superintendent, or under any provision of Part 26.8 (commencing with Section 47600).

J-13A Waiver for COVID-19 Related Staffing Shortage

The budget clean-up bills provide that LEAs cannot utilize the J-13A process to generate average daily attendance (ADA) for students who are unable to attend in-person instruction due generally to exposure to, or infection with, COVID-19. However, those agencies may receive ADA credit for school closures related to the impacts from COVID-19 or material loss of attendance due to COVID-19 related staffing shortages if the following conditions are established to the satisfaction of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) by affidavits of the members of the governing board and the county superintendent of schools:

1. The agency is unable to provide in-person instruction to pupils due to staffing shortages as a result of staff quarantine due to exposure to, or infection with, COVID-19 pursuant to local or state public health guidance.
2. For certificated staff shortages, the agency has exhausted all options for obtaining staff coverage, including using all certificated staff and substitute teacher options, and has consulted with their county office of education (COE) and the SPI in determining that staffing needs cannot be met through any option.
3. For classified staff shortages, the agency has exhausted all options for obtaining staff coverage, including using all staff options, and has consulted with their COE and the SPI in determining that staffing needs cannot be met through any option.

The bills also further specify the required elements of the J-13A affidavit.

There is a parallel section in the bills that specifies that LEAs will not lose apportionments if they are prevented from maintaining at least 180 full length days (175 days for charter schools) of in-person instruction in the fiscal year due to COVID-19 related staffing shortages. However, in this situation, the LEA must offer independent study to all impacted students. The three conditions needed to demonstrate COVID-19 related staffing shortages are identical to those described above.

New Audit of pupil/teacher ratios

Commencing with the 2021–22 fiscal year Guide for Annual Audits of K–12 Local Education Agencies and State Compliance Reporting, the Controller shall incorporate verification of the pupil/teacher ratios, including fiscal penalties for noncompliance.

CALPADS data reporting

Commencing with the 2021–22 school year, the CDE shall include a required field in the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System for the collection of the number of pupils participating in Independent Study pursuant to this article for 15 or more schooldays.

A downloadable version of this summary can be found here.

What’s Next?

These new requirements will be enforced through each LEA’s annual audit. The state is set to begin the process of developing audit guidance for these new requirements at the end of October. Several statewide education groups have a seat at the table in order to provide input on how the state should treat these auditable requirements, including penalties for non-compliance in some cases. We expect these statewide groups to push for a recognition of practical realities of the massive change in rules just as the school year was beginning, or in some cases, after the school year had begun. Compounding the problem on several levels is the statewide labor shortage of teachers and classified employees that are vital to successful implementation of Independent Study.

The Legislature returns in January and there may be some opportunity to further address/clarify the new statutes.

In the meantime, LEAs should do their best to comply with the law and consult with their legal counsel and auditor to best ensure compliance.