Assurances

Applicants will be required to agree to each of the assurances listed below in order to participate in the approval review process. A 'No' answer to a required assurances item will prevent providers from submitting an application for review and later discovery of a provider's failure to adhere to them can be basis for rescindment of approval.

Accreditation

The applicant has been accredited by the Northwest Accreditation Commission (NWAC, formerly the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools, or NAAS), and agrees to maintain accredited status for the duration of OSPI approval period.

Federal or state laws, rules, and regulations

The applicant acknowledges the responsibility to uphold any other pertinent federal or state law, rules or regulations in the delivery of its online courses or programs.

Washington State certificated teachers

All instruction delivered to Washington State students is delivered by Washington state certificated teachers who are assigned to instruct courses in a manner which meets the "Highly Qualified" definition under the No Child Left Behind Act and in a manner which meets the requirements set forth in WAC 181-82. The applicant acknowledges that OSPI approval covers only courses delivered to Washington state students and delivered by Washington state certificated teachers.

High school credit

All of the applicant's high school courses advertised as being worth high school credit are eligible for high school credit per WAC 180.51.050. (However, final decisions regarding the awarding of high school credit shall remain the responsibility of school districts.)

Standards alignment

The applicant's course content is aligned with at least 80% of the current applicable grade/subject area Washington State standards. For courses with content that is not included in state standards, the applicant's courses are aligned with at least 80% of nationally accepted content standards set for the relevant subjects.

Include information about who conducted the alignments (name/title and/or service provider), the standard(s) aligned, and the dates of alignments.

Upon approval, the applicant can and will disclose alignment documentation for each course on their website and/or OSPI course catalog.

Credit/content requirements

All of the applicant's current and future courses in the following areas meet the credit/content requirements as outlined in their respective WACs:

Advanced Placement

All of the applicant's Advanced Placement courses have been approved via the College Board AP Course Audit. For AP courses not yet offered at the time of application, the applicant agrees that those courses will be approved by the College Board prior to the applicant offering the course to students.

List the names of courses approved in the audit. Please include date of audit for each course.

Career and Technical Education

All of the applicant's current and future Career and Technical Education (CTE) courses have been approved per OSPI's Career and Technical Education requirements and any instruction of a CTE-designated course is provided by a Washington certificated teacher who is also CTE-certificated in the subject area of the course.

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act

The applicant's data management systems ensure all student information remains confidential, as required by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

Accessibility

The applicant's web systems meet conformance level A of the World Wide Web Consortium's Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0.

Responsibility

The applicant retains responsibility for the quality of the courses and content it offers, irrespective of any third-party contractual arrangements, partnerships or consortia contributing to the content or delivery of the online courses.

Assessment

The applicant agrees to comply with the state assessment requirements, including, but not limited to, the requirements of RCW 28A.655 and WAC 392-121-182, as applicable.

Alternative Learning Experiences

The applicant agrees that all online courses or programs delivered as Alternative Learning Experiences (ALE) comply with the requirements of WAC 392-121-182.

Reporting

The applicant agrees to provide all information as directed or as requested by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Secretary for the Department of Education, and other federal officials for audit, program evaluation compliance, monitoring, and other purposes and to maintain all records for the current year and three previous years.

Program changes

The applicant agrees to inform, in writing, the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) Digital Learning Department of any significant changes to its program.

Authorization

The assurances must be authorized by a signed letter.