Section 451.270  Instructional Program and Services

a)         A school shall design courses of instruction that impart knowledge, develop skills, and effectively prepare students for employability in the occupations for which they are being trained.

1)         Approved courses shall be implemented fully and taught in accordance with conditions for approval set by the Superintendent as required in this Section.

2)         The school shall evaluate and update its approved curriculum on forms and with procedures of its own design.

b)         A school's objectives for its courses of instruction shall be consistent with its purpose and shall be supported by policies and procedures that develop performance standards to be used in measuring the accomplishment of its students.

c)         No course of instruction or subject shall be taught without written approval from the Superintendent in accordance with subsections (c)(1) and (c)(2).

1)         The school shall not make any major changes in its approved courses or subjects, including the method by which the course is delivered, without prior consent from the Superintendent.

2)         The Superintendent shall approve changed courses only after applying the same criteria set forth in this Section for granting original course and subject approval.

d)         A school shall establish explicit objectives regarding student learning for each course of instruction and subject offered.  The objectives shall include statements of the specific knowledge and skills each student must achieve by the time of course completion.

e)         A school shall have current, comprehensive, organized, and detailed instructional outlines, courses of study, syllabi, teaching guides, and lesson plans that indicate scope and sequence of subject matter and learning experiences sufficient for students to achieve announced objectives for each course of instruction and subject.

1)         Each teacher shall have the school's curriculum materials for assigned subjects in his/her possession and be knowledgeable of their contents prior to teaching these subjects.

2)         The school's administration shall require each teacher to use the school's curriculum materials.

f)          A school shall determine the total number of hours required for completion of each course of instruction and subject and the total amount of time to be devoted to each phase within each course and subject.

1)         The school shall establish the number of hours students are to spend in classroom, practice, and work experience.

2)         The school shall determine the educational content and length of the period of study for each course and subject only after considering and appraising information derived from research data, previous instructional experiences, the practices prevailing in public and other private schools and in military, business, and industrial training programs.

3)         The comprehensiveness, content, and length of the school's courses of instruction shall be consistent with its explicit learning objectives.

g)         A school shall utilize instructional methods that facilitate achievement of student learning objectives.

1)         Instructors shall be competent in the methods the school has adopted as most appropriate for its curriculum and students.

2)         The chief managing employee shall ensure that instructors apply the methods adopted.

h)         The school shall use textbooks, instructional materials and/or software consistent with its identified curricular objectives for each of its courses of instruction and subjects.

i)          The school shall maintain the following information on its texts and home study and distance education lessons currently in use:  

1)         titles;

2)         authors and/or contributing subject matter specialists;

3)         publishers;

4)         copyright dates.

j)          A school shall have samples of all tests and other student evaluation devices used by the school available for the Superintendent's inspection for a period of not less than one calendar year following such use.

k)         In-residence, home study/in-residence, and distance education schools shall maintain and, upon the request of the Superintendent, provide their policies for limiting:  

1)         the number of classes an instructor may be assigned to teach on any day when the school is in session;

2)         the total number of students the instructor may be assigned to teach in any week;

3)         the total number of different subject preparations an instructor may be assigned to teach on any day in any week.

l)          In-residence, home study/in-residence, and distance education schools shall maintain and, upon request of the Superintendent, provide their policies for determining maximum student/instructor ratios for each course of instruction and each subject within the course.  Student/instructor ratio policies shall:  

1)         be varied to conform to the requirements for different courses of instruction and subjects; and

2)         give the rationale used to determine how the maximum class sizes for different courses and subjects were determined.

m)        Except in circumstances where the school has presented evidence that the standards it uses are as effective in ensuring an opportunity for students to achieve stated course objectives, specifications ratios for classroom instruction shall not exceed 30:1 and for laboratory or clinical instruction shall not exceed 20:1.

n)         Home study schools, home study/in-residence schools and distance education schools shall maintain and, upon request of the Superintendent, provide policies for determining the total number of instructor hours required weekly to process, correct, and return home study and distance education lessons and examinations.  The policies shall provide for instructor responses to examinations with comments and suggestions for corrections of errors and apparent weaknesses to be returned within seven business days after receipt of the lessons and examinations at the school.

o)         In-residence schools shall not assign an instructor to teach more than one subject, or cause any instructor  to be responsible for instruction in two separate classrooms, during the same class period. An instructor may teach more than one level of the same subject during the same class period, provided that in each such instance the school shall ensure that the instruction provided to each student is appropriate to his or her level. Evidence of compliance with this requirement shall be:

1)         individual instructional programs; or

2)         class grouping and instruction by ability level.

p)         Approval of a course of instruction shall be continuous, provided:  

1)         the school continues to have approved status;

2)         the scope and sequence of the course is the same as that previously approved by the Superintendent;

3)         the course of instruction has been taught during the previous approval year;

4)         the school continues to have approved instructors for the course of instruction pursuant to Section 451.410 of this Part; and

5)         the method of delivery for the course of instruction has not changed.

(Source:  Amended at 24 Ill. Reg. 7229, effective May 1, 2000)