Section 3313.482. Plans for completion of make up days via web access

(A)

(1) Prior to the first day of August of each school year, the board of education of any school district or the governing authority of any chartered nonpublic school may submit to the department of education a plan to require students to access and complete classroom lessons posted on the district's or nonpublic school's web portal or web site in order to make up hours in that school year on which it is necessary to close schools for disease epidemic, hazardous weather conditions, law enforcement emergencies, inoperability of school buses or other equipment necessary to the school's operation, damage to a school building, or other temporary circumstances due to utility failure rendering the school building unfit for school use.

Prior to the first day of August of each school year, the governing authority of any community school established under Chapter 3314. that is not an internet- or computer-based community school, as defined in section 3314.02 of the Revised Code, may submit to the department a plan to require students to access and complete classroom lessons posted on the school's web portal or web site in order to make up hours in that school year on which it is necessary to close the school for any of the reasons specified in division (H)(4) of section 3314.08 of the Revised Code so that the school is in compliance with the minimum number of hours required under Chapter 3314. of the Revised Code.

A plan submitted by a school district board , chartered nonpublic school governing authority , or community school governing authority shall provide for making up any number of hours, up to a maximum of the number of hours that are the equivalent of three school days. Provided the plan meets all requirements of this section, the department shall permit the board or governing authority to implement the plan for the applicable school year.

(2) Each plan submitted under this section by a school district board of education shall include the written consent of the teachers' employee representative designated under division (B) of section 4117.04 of the Revised Code.

(3) Each plan submitted under this section shall provide for the following:

(a) Not later than the first day of November of the school year, each classroom teacher shall develop a sufficient number of lessons for each course taught by the teacher that school year to cover the number of make-up hours specified in the plan. The teacher shall designate the order in which the lessons are to be posted on the district's, community school's, or nonpublic school's web portal or web site in the event of a school closure. Teachers may be granted up to one professional development day to create lesson plans for those lessons.

(b) To the extent possible and necessary, a classroom teacher shall update or replace, based on current instructional progress, one or more of the lesson plans developed under division (A)(3)(a) of this section before they are posted on the web portal or web site under division (A)(3)(c) of this section or distributed under division (B) of this section.

(c) As soon as practicable after a school closure, a district or school employee responsible for web portal or web site operations shall make the designated lessons available to students on the district's, community school's, or nonpublic school's portal or site. A lesson shall be posted for each course that was scheduled to meet on the day or hours of the closure.

(d) Each student enrolled in a course for which a lesson is posted on the portal or site shall be granted a two-week period from the date of posting to complete the lesson. The student's classroom teacher shall grade the lesson in the same manner as other lessons. The student may receive an incomplete or failing grade if the lesson is not completed on time.

(e) If a student does not have access to a computer at the student's residence and the plan does not include blizzard bags under division (B) of this section, the student shall be permitted to work on the posted lessons at school after the student's school reopens. If the lessons were posted prior to the reopening, the student shall be granted a two-week period from the date of the reopening, rather than from the date of posting as otherwise required under division (A)(3)(d) of this section, to complete the lessons. The district board or community school or nonpublic school governing authority may provide the student access to a computer before, during, or after the regularly scheduled school day or may provide a substantially similar paper lesson in order to complete the lessons.

(B)

(1) In addition to posting classroom lessons online under division (A) of this section, the board of education of any school district or governing authority of any community or chartered nonpublic school may include in the plan distribution of "blizzard bags," which are paper copies of the lessons posted online.

(2) If a school opts to use blizzard bags, teachers shall prepare paper copies in conjunction with the lessons to be posted online and update the paper copies whenever the teacher updates the online lesson plans.

(3) The board of education of any school district or governing authority of any community or chartered nonpublic school that opts to use blizzard bags shall specify in the plan the method of distribution of blizzard bag lessons, which may include, but not be limited to, requiring distribution by a specific deadline or requiring distribution prior to anticipated school closure as directed by the superintendent of a school district or the principal, director, chief administrative officer, or the equivalent, of a school.

(4) Students shall turn in completed lessons in accordance with division (A)(3)(d) of this section.

(C)

(1) No school district that implements a plan in accordance with this section shall be considered to have failed to comply with division (B) of section 3317.01 of the Revised Code with respect to the number of make-up hours specified in the plan.

(2) No community school that implements a plan in accordance with this section shall be considered to have failed to comply with the minimum number of hours required under Chapter 3314. of the Revised Code with respect to the number of make-up hours specified in the plan.

Renumbered from § 3313.88 by 130th General Assembly File No. 25, HB 59, §110.10, eff. 7/1/2014.

Amended by 130th General Assembly File No. 25, HB 59, §101.01, eff. 9/29/2013.

Added by 129th General AssemblyFile No.28, HB 153, §101.01, eff. 6/30/2011.