(1) This rule establishes requirements for distance, online, and technology-delivered learning programs and/or courses that fulfill elementary or middle grades basic education programs and/or high school graduation requirements. 

(2) School districts may receive and/or provide distance, online, and technology delivered learning programs.

(a) School districts receiving distance, online, and technology-delivered learning programs to supplement instruction may utilize distance, online, and technology-delivered learning as they would other supplementary resources without restriction.

(b) Distance, online, and technology-delivered learning programs and/or courses shall at a minimum be aligned with state content standards and content-specific grade-level or grade-band learning progressions.

(c) Annually, a school district shall provide a report to the Superintendent of Public Instruction documenting all distance, online and technology-delivered courses, student enrollments, and the digital content providers.

(3) Except as provided in (3)(a), teachers of distance, online, and technology- delivered learning programs shall be licensed and endorsed in Montana or elsewhere in the area of instruction with such license granted as a result of the completion of an accredited professional educator preparation program as defined in ARM 10.57.102. School districts receiving distance, online, and technology-delivered learning programs described in this rule shall have a distance learning facilitator for each course and available to the students.

(a) When a teacher of distance, online, and technology-delivered learning programs and/or courses does not possess the qualifications specified in (3), the facilitator must be licensed and endorsed in Montana or elsewhere in the area of instruction facilitated.

(b) When a teacher of distance, online, and technology-delivered learning programs is qualified as provided in (3), the receiving school district's facilitator shall be a licensed teacher or a para-educator.

(c) School districts receiving distance, online, and technology-delivered learning programs and/or courses must provide qualified facilitators for synchronous delivery to students in schools accredited by the Montana Board of Public Education, requiring physical presence of a facilitator, and for asynchronous delivery, requiring facilitators be available to students.

(d) The school district must ensure that the distance, online, and technology-delivered learning facilitators receive in-service training on technology-delivered instruction.

(4) Montana school districts providing distance, online and technology- delivered learning shall comply with the teacher load requirements of ARM 10.55.713(3).

(5) Digital content providers serving Montana schools accredited by the Board of Public Education shall:

(a) annually register, prior to delivering courses, with the Office of Public Instruction;

(b) annually identify the Montana school districts served in the current school year by the digital content provider, including the courses and student enrollments for each school district served; and

(c) document the professional qualifications, including Montana teacher licensure and endorsement, of their teachers of distance, online, and technology-delivered programs and/or courses by providing names and credentials of other licensing entities, when not licensed and endorsed in Montana.