Online course guidelines advance

BOISE (AP) — State lawmakers advanced a rule requiring high school students to take at least two credits online to graduate, but with the understanding that education officials will remove a stipulation on how the courses are delivered.

The Senate Education Committee voted Wednesday to approve the rule, which as written, requires one of the two online credits be taken in the form of an asynchronous course, where students move at their own pace and interact with their teacher as needed.

With a synchronous course, students and their instructors are online together at a scheduled time. 

But groups like the Idaho School Boards Association urged lawmakers to leave the delivery of the online courses up to school districts. Public schools chief Tom Luna told lawmakers Wednesday he would be comfortable with that change.