(a) There is created the Arkansas Online Professional Development Initiative.

(b) Under the initiative, the Commissioner of Education shall identify teacher professional development needs in the state and prioritize the needs based on the areas of professional development most needed to improve academic and teaching knowledge and skills of licensed personnel.

(c) Based on the needs and priorities identified in the assessment under subsection (b) of this section, the commissioner shall work with the Director of the Educational Television Division of the Department of Education and local school districts to develop a statewide online professional development program that includes quality professional development courses that:

(1) Are aligned to the required focus areas identified in the State Board of Education rules governing professional development and the Arkansas Educational Support and Accountability Act, § 6-15-2901 et seq.;

(2) Are aligned with the clear, specific, and challenging academic content areas as established by the Department of Education as required under § 6-15-2906;

(3) Are aligned with the Arkansas academic standards established by the department for each class level or subject area included in the respective professional development programs;

(4) Are research-based and available from sources with expertise in technology-delivered professional development courses;

(5) Are consistent with the Board of Control for Southern Regional Education multistate online professional development standards in existence on January 1, 2005;

(6) Focus on improving student academic achievement by improving a teacher's academic and teaching knowledge and skills; and

(7) Include an assessment at the end of the program designed to measure each licensed person's level of understanding and ability to implement or apply the information presented in the program.

(d) (1) (A) The Arkansas Educational Television Network shall support the delivery of the online professional development courses developed as part of the initiative to teachers and administrators in each school in each school district in the state via the internet.

(B) In addition to the online courses developed as part of the initiative, the network may continue to deliver professional development by broadcast, compressed, satellite, and face-to-face methods.

(2) The online professional development courses supported by the network or other providers shall include online registration, course evaluation, and attendance and completion documents.

(3) Any provider of technology-delivered professional development under the initiative shall demonstrate an ability to successfully deliver technology-delivered products and services.

(4) If a technology-delivered professional development course or service that has been identified as needed under the assessment in subsection (b) of this section is not available, the network or other providers shall work with the department to develop a course or service to meet the identified need.

(e)

(1) The department shall determine the content of and preapprove all professional development courses or programs delivered by the network that qualify for professional development credit as required by the Standards for Accreditation of Arkansas Public Schools and School Districts or teacher licensure requirements.

(2) The department may approve professional development obtained through a micro-credentialing process.

(f) The department shall provide the staff and resources needed to provide the quality leadership necessary to coordinate the initiative.

(g) The initiative shall include a method for the department, the network, school districts, schools, and licensed personnel to annually evaluate the effectiveness of the initiative and its online professional development course and programs.

(h)

(1) As part of a school district support plan, the department may include guidelines for the professional development programs to be delivered to the licensed personnel employed by a school district receiving Level 3 -- Coordinated, Level 4 -- Directed, or Level 5 -- Intensive support.

(2) As part of the school district support plan, the department may require the participation and completion of professional development courses or programs by licensed personnel in a school or school district as appropriate for the licensed personnel's job assignments and duties.