Bill Description: Senate Bill 1015 would limit “extended learning opportunities,” which include things like career readiness skills or apprenticeships, to full-time public school students. It would also limit the ability to attain self-directed learner designations to full-time public school students.

Rating: -1

Does the bill expand the existing government monopoly on education and shrink family and student choice or agency? (-) Conversely, does the bill expand the ability for families and students to choose the educational options that best meet their needs free of government intervention or coercion? (+)

Senate Bill 1015 could shrink family and student choice and agency by limiting participation in “extended learning opportunities” to full-time public school students. Extended learning opportunities are defined as “enrichment opportunities outside of a classroom setting” and “career readiness or employability skills, including internships, pre-apprenticeships, and apprenticeships.” They also include any other out-of-classroom opportunities approved by the State Board of Education or pertinent school district or charter school. The bill would prevent part-time, dual-enrolled students from participating in these opportunities.

Senate Bill 1015 could also shrink student choice by amending a section of Code dealing with self-directed learner designations to limit their use to full-time students. Self-directed learner designations allow students who meet certain criteria to pursue “flexible learning,” which varies by student but can include options like “flexible attendance, attending school virtually, extended learning opportunities, and any other agreed-upon learning inside or outside the classroom.”

This bill could exclude some students from participating in educational opportunities that would enrich their experience and prepare them for future academic, personal, and professional success. 

(-1)