Assurances

These assurances agreed to by all approved online learning programs and providers ensure that they understand and will abide by the requirements of Washington state education and online learning.

Applicants will be required to agree to each of the assurances listed below in order to participate in the approval review process. A 'No' answer to a required assurances item will prevent providers from submitting an application for review and later discovery of a provider's failure to adhere to them can be basis for rescindment of approval.

Districts take note: OSPI's Online Provider Approval Assurances reference legal requirements of schools and service providers which are enforced locally or by other agencies. As such, approved online providers are not reviewed for their adherence to these requirements but are held accountable to them in the event that they should be found to be not operating in accordance with the law.

List of Assurances

Accreditation (Course Providers Only)

The applicant has been accredited by Cognia (formerly AdvancED) or AESD, and agrees to maintain accredited status for the duration of OSPI approval period.

Federal or State Laws, Rules, and Regulations

The applicant acknowledges the responsibility to uphold any other pertinent federal or state law, rules or regulations in the delivery of its online courses or programs, including, without limitation, Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

Teacher Requirements

Pursuant to WAC 392-121-182, all instruction delivered to Washington state students is delivered by Washington state certificated teachers who (A) are assigned and endorsed to instruct courses in a manner which meets the requirements set forth in WAC 181-82, and (B) are evaluated annually using the revised evaluative criteria and four-level rating system established in RCW 28A.405.100. The applicant acknowledges that OSPI approval covers only courses delivered to Washington state students and delivered by Washington state certificated teachers.

High School Credit

All of the applicant's high school courses advertised as being worth high school credit are eligible for high school credit per WAC 180.51.050. (However, final decisions regarding the awarding of high school credit shall by governed by RCW 28A.250.050 (2).)

Standards Alignment

The applicant's course content is aligned with at least eighty percent of the current applicable grade/subject area Washington state standards, including the Washington Educational Technology Standards. For courses with content that is not included in state standards, the applicant's courses are aligned with at least eighty percent of nationally accepted content standards set for the relevant subjects. Include information about who conducted the alignments (name/title and/or service provider), the standard(s) aligned, and the dates of alignments. Upon approval, the applicant can and will disclose alignment documentation for each course on their website and/or OSPI course catalog.

Credit/Content Requirements

All of the applicant's current and future courses must meet the credit/content requirements in chapter 392-410 WAC.

Advanced Placement

All of the applicant's Advanced Placement (AP) courses have been approved via the College Board AP Course Audit. For AP courses not yet offered at the time of application, the applicant agrees that those courses will be approved by the College Board prior to the applicant offering the course to students. List the names of courses approved in the audit. Please include date of audit for each course.

Career and Technical Education

All of the applicant's current and future career and technical education (CTE) courses have been approved per OSPI's CTE requirements and any instruction of a CTE-designated course is provided by a Washington certificated teacher who is also CTE-certificated in the subject area of the course.

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act

The applicant's data management systems ensure all student information remains confidential, as required by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

Accessibility

The applicant's web systems meet conformance level A of the World Wide Web Consortium's Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0.

Curriculum Adoption

Instructional materials used by online school programs in online courses or course work must be approved pursuant to school board policies adopted in accordance with RCW 28A.320.230.

Responsibility

The applicant retains responsibility for the quality of the courses, web systems, and content it offers, irrespective of any third-party contractual arrangements, partnerships or consortia contributing to the content or delivery of the online courses.

Assessment

The online school program agrees to comply with the state assessment requirements, including, but not limited to, the requirements of RCW 28A.655 and WAC 392-121-182, as applicable.

Alternative Learning Experiences

The online provider agrees that all online courses or programs delivered as Alternative Learning Experiences (ALE) comply with the requirements of WAC 392-121-182. The online course provider agrees to disclose to OSPI the manner in which it supports the requirements of WAC 392-121-182 for online courses delivered outside of an online school program.

Reporting

The applicant agrees to provide all information as directed or as requested by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Secretary for the Department of Education, and other federal officials for audit, program evaluation compliance, monitoring, and other purposes and to maintain all records for the current year and three previous years.

The online provider agrees to abide by any additional assurances required by the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Program Changes

The online provider will inform the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction in writing of any significant changes to the program including, but not limited to, changes in assurances, program description, fiscal status, or ownership.

Authorization

The assurances must be authorized by a signed letter.

Additional Assurances for Affiliate Online School Programs

Rescindment

Applicant acknowledges that in the event the approval of a sourcing provider is rescinded, the applying program's approval will preclude them from continuing to use courses offered by the rescinded provider.

Program Content

Applicant certifies that only approved online providers will supply the program's online content and that all of the program's offerings are from approved providers. If, in addition to using the OSPI approved providers, the program develops courses, then those newly developed courses may be subject to OSPI's full approval. By agreeing to this assurance and disclosing the name of the approved provider(s) the applicant is working with, the applicant is providing sufficient evidence to meet the approval requirements outlined in WAC 392-502-030.

Learning Management System

Applicant certifies that approved online provider(s) will supply the program's learning management system(s).

Online Teachers

Applicant certifies that approved online provider(s) will supply all of the program's online teachers, all of whom are certificated Washington state educators.

Program Changes

The applicant agrees to inform, in writing, the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) Digital Learning Department (DLD) of any significant changes to its use of approved provider offerings.

Assurance Letter

As a part of the application, applicants must upload a signed letter agreeing to comply with the assurances.

For district-run providers, the letter must be on school district letterhead and signed by the district superintendent.

For company-run providers, the letter must be on company letterhead and signed by an authorized representative of the company.

Template

Applications should use the following template:

Format

Signed letters should be scanned and submitted with the application in pdf format. See Online Learning Approval Application for more information.