53F-4-518. Small school student access to courses.
Subject to legislative appropriations and Subsection, and notwithstanding Subsectionsand (3), the state board shall:
(1) use funds from an appropriation for the Statewide Online Education Program to pay for an online course fee described in Sectionfor a student who is enrolled in a public high school that enrolls fewer than 1,000 students; 53F-4-505
(2) after the funds described in Subsection (1) have been expended, make a deduction as described in Subsection; 53F-4-507(3)
(3) establish a prioritized funding distribution system that evaluates and ranks schools based on: the school's demonstrated inability to provide courses, including Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, or Concurrent Enrollment due to: insufficient student enrollment to justify full course sections; geographic isolation from qualified instructors; limited staff capacity to teach courses; or financial constraints in hiring qualified instructors; and the school's current access to college and career readiness programming;
(4) develop an annual assessment process to: identify schools with the highest demonstrated need based on the criteria in Subsection (3); and adjust funding priorities based on program outcomes;
(5) establish reporting requirements for recipient schools to: document the use of allocated funds; track student participation in online courses; measure student achievement in funded courses; and demonstrate ongoing need for continued funding; and
(6) at the request of the Education Interim Committee, submit a report that includes: a list of schools receiving prioritized funding; the basis for funding prioritization; student participation and achievement data; and recommendations for program improvement.