{"id":1448,"date":"2015-04-24T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-04-24T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/aurora-institute.org\/blog\/inacol-policy-update-fully-online-schools-still-an-option-in-tennessee-oklahoma-passes-teaching-certificate-reciprocity\/"},"modified":"2022-11-04T17:26:17","modified_gmt":"2022-11-04T21:26:17","slug":"inacol-policy-update-fully-online-schools-still-an-option-in-tennessee-oklahoma-passes-teaching-certificate-reciprocity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aurora-institute.org\/blog\/inacol-policy-update-fully-online-schools-still-an-option-in-tennessee-oklahoma-passes-teaching-certificate-reciprocity\/","title":{"rendered":"iNACOL Policy Update \u2013 Fully-Online Schools Still an Option in Tennessee & Oklahoma Passes Teaching Certificate Reciprocity"},"content":{"rendered":"

April 15 \u2013 April 24, 2015
\nBy Maria Worthen (<\/em>mworthen@inacol.org<\/em><\/a>) and Susan Gentz (<\/em>sgentz@inacol.org<\/em><\/a>).<\/em><\/p>\n

There was good news out of Tennessee this week, which passed a bill to continue to allow students to access fully online public schools. It\u2019s important for students to have a full range of learning opportunities available to them, through blended learning, supplemental online courses, and fully online schools.<\/p>\n

Oklahoma also made positive strides this week with the enactment of a law to allow for true teacher reciprocity, allowing highly qualified teachers licensed in other states to obtain an Oklahoma teaching license without jumping through further hoops.<\/p>\n

Many states are slated to adjourn within the next two weeks, although some states may not actually meet these deadlines.<\/p>\n

For example, Iowa is scheduled to adjourn on May 2, but that will depend, in part, on whether the Senate and House can agree on an education funding allocation. In Iowa, the elected officials\u2019 per diem expires after May 2, and after that, legislators will have to pay out-of-pocket for their own expenses. This is usually enough of an incentive for legislators to seek a compromise; however, this issue looks like it might keep the session going longer than most had anticipated.<\/p>\n

A summary is below; a more detailed version with additional legislative information is available in the members-only\u00a0iNACOL Member Forums<\/a>. We track policy priorities and issues related to the field\u2019s needs as outlined annually in the iNACOL State Policy Frameworks<\/a>. This report provides background information and recommendations for issues on the critical policy shifts needed to transform K-12 education.<\/p>\n

STATE POLICY HIGHLIGHTS<\/h3>\n