Indiana § 20-24-5-4.5 - Onboarding requirements; teacher training requirements; student residency requirement

§ 20-24-5-4.5. Onboarding requirements; teacher training requirements; student residency requirement

Sec. 4.5. (a) A virtual charter school shall establish and implement an annual onboarding process and orientation for virtual charter school students and the students' parents. As part of the annual onboarding process and orientation, the virtual charter school must provide to a parent of a student:

(1) the student engagement and attendance requirements or policies of the virtual charter school; and

(2) notice that a person who knowingly or intentionally deprives a dependent of education commits a violation under IC 35-46-1-4.

(b) A student who is not enrolled in a virtual charter school before July 1, 2020, must complete the annual onboarding process and orientation established by the virtual charter school under subsection (a) with the student's parent before the student may enroll in the virtual charter school. If a student or student's parent does not participate in the virtual charter school's annual onboarding process and orientation established under subsection (a), the student may not enroll in the virtual charter school.

(c) An authorizer shall review and monitor whether a virtual charter school that is authorized by the authorizer complies with the requirements under this section.

(d) An individual who is employed as a licensed teacher at a virtual charter school must comply with any mandatory licensed teacher training that is required under this title.

(e) A virtual charter school must require that if a student who attends a virtual charter school accumulates the number of unexcused absences sufficient to result in the student's classification as a habitual truant, the student must be withdrawn from enrollment in the virtual charter school.

(f) Except as provided in IC 20-26-19, a virtual charter school may not enroll a student unless the student is an Indiana resident. If the virtual charter school is unable to verify that a student who attends the virtual charter school is an Indiana resident, the virtual charter school must pay back to the department the state tuition support distribution in an amount determined by the department that the virtual charter school received for that student.

As added by P.L.159-2019, SEC.8. Amended by P.L.38-2020, SEC.2; P.L.250-2023, SEC.11.