Code of Massachusetts Regulations › 603 CMR - DEPARTMENT OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION › Title 603 CMR 27.00 - Student Learning Time › Section 27.02 - Definitions

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
As used in
				603 CMR
				27.00, the terms listed in 603 CMR 27.02 shall have
				the following meanings:
Asynchronous Learning
shall mean
				learning that occurs on a student's individual time and at their own
				pace.
Board
shall mean the Board of
				Elementary and Secondary Education.
Commissioner
shall mean the
				Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education.
Core Subjects
shall mean the core
				academic subjects specified in M.G.L. c. 69, § 1D (science, technology and
				mathematics, history and social science, English, foreign languages and the
				arts), and the subjects covered in courses which are part of an approved
				vocational-technical education program under M.G.L. c. 74.
Department
shall mean the Department
				of Elementary and Secondary Education.
District
shall mean a municipal school
				department or regional school district, acting through its school committee or
				superintendent of schools, a county agricultural school, acting through its
				board of trustees or superintendent/director, any other public school
				established by statute or charter, acting through its governing board or
				director.
Elementary School
shall mean a school
				providing instruction to grades one through five, six, seven, or eight, and,
				where so designated by a school committee prior to the commencement of a school
				year, may also include a middle school or other intermediate level school
				providing instruction to grades five through eight or any combination
				thereof.
Live Instruction
shall mean the
				combination of in-person instruction and remote synchronous instruction.
Optional School Programs
shall mean
				school activities not part of a course of study in either core subjects or
				other subjects, which are offered by a school district to enrich the
				educational experience of its students and meet educational goals set by the
				local or regional school committee. Examples include: activity clubs; driver
				education; extracurricular student performance groups; nonacademic assemblies;
				nonacademic field trips; pep-rallies; sports; standardized testing other than
				statewide assessments conducted under M.G.L. c. 69, §§ 1D and 1I; and
				student government.
Other Subjects
shall mean subjects
				other than core academic subjects that are required to be taught pursuant to
				M.G.L. c. 71, §§ 1 and 3, and other subjects approved by the school
				committee as part of the district's program of studies.
Remote Learning
shall mean learning
				that happens outside of the traditional classroom because the student and
				teacher are separated by distance. Remote learning may include synchronous or
				asynchronous components, provided that students have opportunities to interact
				on each school day with teachers, such as through feedback, office hours, and
				other regularly scheduled individual student interactions. Remote learning may
				include, but is not limited to, online learning.
School Services
shall mean services
				which a school district provides to some or all students, either as a matter of
				state or federal law or regulation or local school district policy, to protect
				or improve student health and personal well-being, or enhance students'
				readiness and ability to learn. Examples include: special education diagnosis
				and evaluation; special education related services such as speech, physical and
				occupational therapy; health screening and prevention services; and school
				breakfast and lunch.
Secondary School
shall mean a school
				providing instruction to grades six through twelve, or any combination of those
				grades, except where a school committee, prior to the commencement of the
				school year, has designated a middle or other intermediate level school
				providing instruction to grades five through eight, or any combination thereof,
				as an elementary school.
Structured Learning Time
shall mean
				time during which students are engaged in regularly scheduled instruction,
				learning activities, or learning assessments within the curriculum for study of
				the "core subjects" and "other subjects". In addition to classroom time where
				both teachers and students are present, structured learning time may include
				directed study, independent study, technology-assisted learning, presentations
				by persons other than teachers, school-to-work programs, and statewide student
				performance assessments. Hybrid learning may constitute structured learning
				time if a district's hybrid learning model is consistent with the requirements
				of 603 CMR 27.08(3)(a). Remote learning may constitute structured learning time
				if a district's remote learning model is consistent with the requirements of
				603 CMR 27.08(3)(c).
Synchronous Learning
shall mean
				learning that is directed by a teacher and that happens in real time with other
				students, such as during live, whole-class instruction, and small group
				work.