Virtual Summer School Rule Adopted

The administrative rule on expanding flexibility for districts to offer virtual summer school, which has been in process for the past year, has been adopted. The final version of the rule that the Legislature approved will permit districts to count minutes of instruction for virtual, non-credit, summer and interim session classes offered to students in grades 9 through 12 and taught by a licensed teacher. The rule does not expand flexibility to count minutes for virtual summer and interim session classes to grades 4K-6, nor does it allow districts to count minutes for non-credit classes offered for grades 7 and 8.

Although the rule goes into effect on October 1, 2021, it pertains to the inclusion of minutes in membership FTE, rather than to the classes themselves. Therefore, districts that offered non-credit virtual classes to students in grades 9 through 12 this past summer of 2021 may amend their PI-1804 Summer Pupil Count Report to add minutes of instruction for those classes. The PI-1804 report remains due on October 1, 2021.

Any additional FTE would be included in the three-year rolling average membership for revenue limits beginning with the current 2021-22 school year, as well as in membership for general state aids paid from 2022-23 onward.

The rule does not modify existing law on counting virtual instruction for high school credit earned by students in grades 7-12 in summer or interim session classes. It also does not change the basis for summer/interim session membership FTE, which remains minutes of instruction.

Here is a summary of school district virtual summer and interim session options for membership FTE: