Use this procedure in conjunction with the subhead Suspension of In-Person Instruction; Remote and/or Blended Remote Learning Day Plan(s) in policy 4:180, Pandemic Preparedness; Management; and Recovery.

When the District must implement a Remote and/or Blended Remote Learning Day Plan (Plan) that designates remote learning days (RLDs) and/or blended remote learning days (BRLDs) for instruction in grades pre-kindergarten through 12, the Superintendent must approve a Plan, present the Plan to the Board for adoption prior to its implementation, implement the Plan after Board approval, and post it on the District’s website. 

The Superintendent will begin the process of developing a Plan in one of the two following ways:

1. Adapting the District’s e-learning program (adopted by the Board pursuant to 105 ILCS 5/10-20.56) into a Plan and ensuring that it is posted on the District’s website and communicated to the community in accordance with this procedure. See E-learning Program; Days, in the Definitions subhead below for more information about an e-learning program.

2. Using this procedure if the District has not implemented an e-learning program. 

Definitions

Blended Remote Learning Days (BRLDs) – School attendance days during which the District provides hybrid days of in-person and remote instruction to students. Once the State Superintendent of Education declares that the District must use remote learning days or blended remote learning days, the Superintendent implements these days in grades pre-kindergarten through 12. These days are counted as days of attendance and are pupil attendance days for calculation of the length of a school term under 105 ILCS 5/10-19 amended by P.A. 101-643 and 5/10-19.05, added by P.A. 101-12 and amended by P.A.101-643. If the District has implemented an e-learning program, these school attendance days may be met through it. See 105 ILCS 5/10-30, added by P.A. 101-643.

E-learning Program; Days – E-learning is short for electronic learning. As an optional instructional tool for school districts, e-learning days are part of an implemented e-learning program in the District that:

1. Uses the Internet, telephones, texts, chat rooms, or other similar means of electronic communication for instruction and interaction between teachers and students that meet the needs of all learners; and

2. Addresses a district’s responsibility to ensure that all teachers and staff who may be involved in the provision of e-learning have access to any and all hardware and software that may be required for the program.

An e-learning program is implemented after a school board:

1. Adopts a resolution to implement research-based program(s) for district-wide e-learning days that permit student instruction to be received electronically while students are not physically present in lieu of the district’s scheduled emergency days as required by 105 ILCS 5/10-19 (105 ILCS 5/10-20.56(b), amended by P.A. 101-12);

2. Conducts a public hearing on the District’s initial e-learning program proposal or renewal with at least 10 days’ advanced notice (Id. at 5/10-20.56(c), amended by P.A. 101-12); and

3. On or before September 1st annually, to ensure access for all students, receives verifications by the regional office of education (ROE) or intermediate service center (ISC) that the board’s proposal for an e-learning program has: (a) met the requirements specified in 105 ILCS 5/10-20.56, amended by P.A. 101-12, 101-643, 102-584, and 102-697; (b) the components designed to reasonably and practicably accomplish the requirements outlined in the enabling statute; and (c) not exceeded the minimum number of emergency days in a district’s approved school calendar. In its verification process, the ROE/ISC ensures that the specific needs of all students are met, including special education students and English Learners, and that all mandates are still met using the proposed research-based program. See 105 ILCS 5/10-20.56(b), amended by P.A. 101-12 and 102-584.

While the ROE/ISC must annually verify a district’s e-learning program, the Board’s approval of an e-learning program is for a term of three years. 105 ILCS 5/10-20.56(d)(10), amended by P.A. 101-12.

Plan – The District’s formal implementation of remote instruction that includes RLDs and BRLDs. If the District already has an e-learning program in place, it should adapt the program into a Plan by ensuring that the requirements for communicating the Plan, e.g., website posting, etc. are met. When finalized, it is provided to students and faculty, posted on the District’s website where other policies, rules, and standards of conduct are posted, and listed in 2:250-E2, Immediately Available District Public Records and Web-Posted Reports and Records. Plans should be periodically reviewed and amended to ensure the needs of all students continue to be met throughout the suspension of in-person learning. If a plan is amended, post the amended plan to the District website. 

Remote Learning Days (RLDs) – Remote learning is learning that happens outside of the traditional classroom because the student and teacher are separated by distance and/or time. Remote learning can be real-time or flexibility-timed, and it may or may not involve technology. School attendance days are days that the District provides remote instruction to students. Once the State Superintendent of Education declares that the District must use remote learning days or blended remote learning days, the Superintendent implements these days in grades pre-kindergarten through 12 on days of attendance. These days are counted as pupil attendance days for calculation of the length of the District’s official calendar under 105 ILCS 5/10-19, amended by P.A. 101-643, and 5/10-19.05, added by P.A. 101-643. If a district has implemented an e-learning program, these school attendance days may be met through it. Five RLDs, taken consecutively or in separate increments, may be used to develop, review, or amend the District’s Plan or provide professional development to staff about remote education; i.e., Remote Learning Planning Days. See 105 ILCS 5/10-30, added by P.A. 101-643. 

Remote Learning Planning Days – Up to five consecutive or separate increment days that a district may use to develop, review, or amend its Plan or to provide professional development to staff about remote education. These days are counted as days of attendance and are pupil attendance days for calculation of the length of a school term under 105 ILCS 5/10-19, amended by P.A. 101-643 and 5/10-19.05, added by P.A. 101-643. See 105 ILCS 5/10-30, added by P.A. 101-643. 

Plan Development and Implementation

Use this Plan before, during, and after implementing 105 ILCS 5/10-30, added by P.A. 101-643. Note: The legislative history and purpose of 105 ILCS 5/10-30, added by P.A. 101-643 was to ensure school districts may/could reopen in time for the start of the 2020-2021 school year, even if that require remote learning. 

Consult the Board Attorney for guidance on this procedure. 

LEGAL REF.:    105 ILCS 5/10-30.

ADOPTED:    November 17, 2022