Welcome to SETDA's Toolkit 2005 on Virtual Learning. This site was created as part of the 2004 National Leadership Institute in Washington, DC.
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Step Three: Identifying the Existing Legislative OptionsLegislative Issues for eLearningThe eLearning Leadership and Policies work group collectively agreed that “eLearning” encompasses many things and can look very different when put into practice in different states and locales. As a state leader, how do you take an eLearning idea and see it into the reality of a program? Some of the biggest challenges often exist in the legislative process that an eLearning program must endure as it seeks to come to fruition. Thus, one subgroup sought to identify the various forms eLearning legislation and policies can take within these different locations. This group focused on identifying a detailed list of the different kinds of eLearning policies and legislation currently in place in different states. Participants broke down the language and nature of these policies by the issues involved so as to provide state leaders with an easy reference guide of tangible examples when working to create legislation in their respective states. Group participants deemed the areas of legislative issues listed as essential for consideration when states initiate online learning programs. Acknowledging that a wide array of idiosyncratic factors and specific needs affect the legislative choices of each state, the group purposefully did not make recommendations for preference of particular policies. Rather, a range of policies are listed within each legislative issue. The range includes policies with very limiting language, that apply tight controls on different aspects of virtual learning programs, to more flexible policy language that allows for a great deal more leverage in eLearning course provision, with some policies removing restrictions and requirements of traditional instruction. This tool will serve to provide a framework for state directors as they address online learning legislation. One of the next steps that is critical for this framework is to identify current state examples and models for each of these policy options.
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