Mar 6, 2017 2 min read

State Rep. Jason Ortitay, R-South Fayette Township, introduced legislation last week to increase learning opportunities by establishing a central repository of online courses for secondary students.

“As technology has grown by leaps and bounds, educational institutions have created innovative and personalized models of instruction that offer a wider array of courses to meet each student’s needs,” Ortitay said. “The opportunity to participate in these experiences should not be determined by where you live in the commonwealth. Higher education has done this successfully for years as statistics show 15 percent of undergraduate students will take at least one distance or online course during their postsecondary careers.”

House Bill 679 would require the Department of Education to create a clearinghouse of online courses for students in grades 6-12 to be accessible to public schools, nonpublic schools, home education programs and the general public. To ensure high-quality options, the bill would require PDE to construct the clearinghouse in a way that provides clear information on each course and offers users the ability to provide feedback and course ratings. According to the legislation, if a school entity would decide to offer participation in the courses, policies and procedures must be established for eligibility, and parents and students must be made aware of the opportunity.

The bill would establish a two-phase implementation schedule. In the first phase, which would begin with the 2018-19 school year, the clearinghouse would offer courses at no cost related to content being tested on the Keystone Exams. In the second phase, which would begin with the 2019-20 school year, the clearinghouse also would offer other online courses from providers, subject to purchase.

The bill has 14 co-sponsors and should be referred to committee soon.