Florida Statute 1006.15 provides student rights relative to the eligibility of full-time Florida Virtual School/St. Johns Virtual School students to participate in interscholastic extracurricular activities at their home-zoned public school.
Additional information on Florida Public Virtual Schools is available at the FDOE Virtual Instruction webpage http://www.fldoe.org/Schools/virtual-schools. The first choice for virtual school for St. Johns County students is St. Johns County Virtual School (SJVS); Information is available at https://stjohnsvirtual.com.
A Florida Virtual School (FLVS) student may be able to take industry certification exams, national assessments, and statewide assessments offered by the district at what would have been their school of enrollment per the district zoning policy. The FLVS student must contact their zoned school to make the necessary arrangements.
Placement/Acceleration in St. Johns Virtual School (SJVS) or Florida Virtual School (FLVS)
As stipulated by the Florida K-20 Education Code (s.1002.20 F.S.), parents/legal guardians have the right to choose educational options such as SJVS or FLVS for their children. A student’s full-time school may not deny access to virtual courses. SJVS is the provider of first choice for virtual instruction; however, in situations in which SJVS cannot fulfill the need, students may qualify to access the services of FLVS. The School Board shall provide students with access to enroll in courses available through SJVS or FLVS and shall award credit for successful completion of such courses. Access may be available to students during or after the normal school day and for FLVS, throughout the summer. Students wishing to take courses from SJVS or FLVS must work closely with their school counselors to ensure that courses fit in their Customized Learning Path (CLP). Placement in a virtual course at any time will follow the district course request process. The Superintendent has designated the principal of the school as the final authority in the placement of students in programs or classes.
A student at the Florida Virtual School full-time program may participate in any interscholastic extracurricular activity at the public school to which the student would be assigned according to district school board attendance area policies or which the student could choose to attend pursuant to 1002.31 F.S. if the student meets other eligibility requirements and registers his or her intent to participate in interscholastic extracurricular activities with the school before the beginning date of the season for the activity in which he or she wishes to participate (FSHAA Bylaw 9.2.2.1). St. Johns Virtual School full-time program may participate in any interscholastic extracurricular activity at the public school within the district they reside (FHSAA Bylaw 9.2.2.3) according to district school board attendance area policies or which the student could choose to attend pursuant to 1002.31 F.S. if the student meets other eligibility requirements and registers his or her intent to participate in interscholastic extracurricular activities with the school before the beginning date of the season for the activity in which he or she wishes to participate. A FLVS/SJVS student must be able to participate in the curricular activities if that is a requirement for an extracurricular activity (1006.15(3) F.S.). Florida Public Virtual Schools Question and Answers are available at the FDOE Virtual Instruction webpage at http://www.fldoe.org/schools/school- choice/virtual-edu/.
Virtual - St. Johns Virtual School (SJVS) or Florida Virtual School (FLVS)
1001.42(23), 1003.498 F.S., establishes virtual school as an educational choice and an acceleration option for students.
St. Johns Virtual School (SJVS) is the first-choice provider for virtual instruction; however, for situations in which SJVS cannot fulfill the need, students may qualify to access the services of FLVS. Students with limited or no access to a specific course are given priority for enrollment. SJVS/FLVS may be appropriate for students with medical or behavior issues that may limit success in the traditional classroom, students who need single subject acceleration, or for students needing a more flexible schedule due to training or other extra-curricular endeavors. Parents/legal guardians should confer with the counselor to determine whether the course selected is appropriate for the student based on the student’s academic history.
Students may enroll in a virtual course offered by any other school district in the state if the student does not have access to the course in St. Johns County School District, pursuant to Section 1003.498, F.S. The law states that the district of instruction reports the student’s completion of the course for funding and that the total reported FTE for both districts cannot exceed 1.0 FTE. When these students seek to enroll in an online course offered by another district, both districts should be involved in the enrollment process and acknowledge requirements related to eligibility and funding before the student is allowed to enroll in the course. The enrollment form is available from the Office of Guidance and Programs of Choice, https://www.stjohns.k12.fl.us/guidance/.
For information on students taking middle school courses through SJVS/FLVS, see–Acceleration, Section IV (B).
Principals will determine if placement in a SJVS/FLVS course is appropriate academically for the student based on course prerequisites, the student’s academic history, age, and appropriateness of the course for the student’s Customized Learning Path (CLP). For students with disabilities, an IEP or 504 meeting will be held prior to determining whether placement in a SJVS/FLVS course is appropriate based on their individual needs. Enrollment in virtual school must be approved by the student’s school counselor prior to the start of a new semester. The School Board shall provide students with access to enroll in courses available through the SJVS/FLVS and shall award credit for successful completion of such courses. Access shall be available to students during or after the normal school day. Students wishing to take courses from SJVS/FLVS must work closely with their school counselors to ensure that courses fit in their Customized Learning Path (CLP). Requests for virtual courses made after the start of school fall under the normal school drop/add policies for any course. Schools shall make every effort for a student to access SJVS/FLVS coursework on site for a student whose CLP indicates that placement in an SJVS/FLVS course during the school day is appropriate. Consistent with school board rules and in accordance with state statute 1012.28 (5) F.S.), the Superintendent has designated the principal of the school as the final authority in the placement of students in programs or classes.
Additional information is available in the Florida Public Virtual Schools Question and Answers, available at the FDOE Virtual Instruction webpage https://www.fldoe.org/schools/school-choice/virtual-edu/. In addition, St. Johns County School District Virtual School information is available at https://stjohnsvirtual.com/.
SJVS/FLVS Guidelines for High School
- Learning Labs have been established at each high school to assist in student access to virtual courses. Students enrolled in these labs will be held to daily class attendance requirements even if course is completed prior to the end of the enrolled semester.
- It is recommended that students have a 2.0 or higher GPA OR score a level 3 or higher on the FAST in reading unless the student has medical or behavior issues that may limit success in the traditional classroom.
- Students must meet with school counselor to determine if placement in a SJVS/FLVS is academically appropriate for the student based on course prerequisites, the student’s academic history and age and appropriateness of the course for the student’s Customized Learning Path (CLP). All courses must be approved by the counselor.
- For students with disabilities, an IEP or 504 meeting will be held prior to determining whether placement in a SJVS/FLVS course is appropriate based on their individual needs.
- Once a semester has begun, a student may not withdraw from a school course to enroll in the same course online without administrative approval.
- Students may not simultaneously be placed in the same course concurrently at a district high school and at SJVS/FLVS.
St. Johns Virtual School offers:
- Full time instruction (37(8)(11) F.S.)
- Individual courses for SJCSD public school students as well home education students
- Curriculum for grades K-12 provided by FLVS
- Curriculum for grades 6-12 provided by Edmentum Learning
SJVS offers two additional virtual options for district students in grades K-12 who meet eligibility requirements to enroll in full time and part time courses. Families may choose from options that include district operated (SJCSD instructors) or provider operated (contracted instruction). For more information, call 904-547-8080 or visit https://stjohnsvirtual.com/ or https://www.fldoe.org/schools/school- choice/virtual-edu/dis-virtual-options.stml. The Florida Online Course Catalog may be found at https://www.fldoe.org/schools/school-choice/virtual-edu/fl-online-catalog.stml.
SJVS or FLVS could be appropriate for students who:
- have medical or behavior issues that may limit success in the traditional classroom,
- need a more flexible schedule due to training or other extra-curricular endeavors,
- need access to a course not offered at their school, or
- are home schooled.
Students enrolled in a SJVS/FLVS course which requires a state end-of-course assessment (EOC) are required to take the EOC in their district school of enrollment and the EOC is 30% of the grade in the class.
Virtual schools must assess the reading ability of students scoring at Level 1 or 2 on the FSA in English Language Arts twice per year. (State Board Rule 6A-6.054)
Enrollment in Virtual Education
Students wishing to take advantage of courses offered by SJVS or FLVS must follow the procedure outlined below:
- The student must meet with the school counselor to determine if placement in SJVS or FLVS is academically appropriate for the student based on course prerequisites, the student’s academic history and age, and appropriateness of the course for the student’s Customized Learning Path (CLP).
- For students with disabilities, an IEP or 504 meeting will be held prior to determining whether placement in a SJVS/FLVS course is appropriate based on their individual needs.
- All petitions to take a course via SJVS or FLVS must be approved by the student’s school counselor prior to the start of a new semester or summer school.
- Once a semester has begun, a student may not withdraw from a school course to enroll in the same course online without administrative approval.
- A student may not simultaneously be placed in the same course concurrently at a district middle or high school and at SJVS or FLVS.
- Students wishing to enroll into full-time St. Johns Virtual or Florida Virtual School programs must apply once the application window opens. Each year there are two windows that will open, one for the Fall semester and one for the Spring semester.
Schools shall make every effort for a student to access SJVS/FLVS coursework on site for a student whose CLP indicates that placement in a SJVS or FLVS course during the school day is appropriate.
Credit Recovery Courses
The State Board of Education approved 23 high school credit recovery courses in July 2012. Some of these courses have state EOCs and others do not. Credit Recovery Courses may be used for Grade Forgiveness / Credit Recovery as well as remediation, and they may be taken in a traditional classroom, a credit recovery lab or through virtual school. Courses offered through a private school may not be used for credit recovery without prior approval by Secondary Instructional Services.
Credit Recovery Courses are .5 elective credit semester courses with specific content requirements defined by the Florida Standards and a maximum of one credit per course. Students enrolled in a Credit Recovery Course must have previously attempted the corresponding course and end-of-course (EOC) assessment, since the course requirements for the Credit Recovery course are exactly the same as the previously attempted corresponding course. For example, Geometry (1206310) and Geometry for Credit Recovery (1206315) have identical content requirements. However, Credit Recovery courses are not bound by section 1003.436(1)(a), F.S., which requires a minimum of 135 hours of instruction. Students who are college-bound athletes and are registering with the NCAA Clearinghouse cannot do credit recovery (APEX/Edmentum), per NCAA Guidelines. To recover failed courses, college-bound athletes may only do grade recovery through brick-and-mortar classes, FLVS, or SJVS courses.