Last modified: March 22, 2024

4180 P1 New Courses: New Course Approval Process

Download 4180 P1 New Courses: New Course Approval Process

For a new course to be added to the course offerings in Provo City School District, the New Course Approval Process must be followed. New courses are defined as follows:

A wholly new course that has never been taught in the district, or
A course that was taught in district at a prior time that is resurrected and proposed to be added back to the current course offerings, or
A course currently listed in the district course offerings but whose title is changed, or
A course currently listed in the district course offerings but is opened to additional grade levels, or
A course that is currently listed in the course offerings but substantially revised with respect to content and skills.*

*Some caution will be required to ensure that state-directed content revisions are taken into consideration.

In cases when the district makes the decision to implement or adjust a course, the full application process will not be required.

References throughout this procedure to a “new course” mean a course meeting any of the above five criteria.

Any teacher or administrator can propose a new course. The timeline must be followed with the appropriate required paperwork submitted by each deadline indicated on the timeline. The new course sponsor is charged with the responsibility of moving the new course through the various levels of review, meeting the appropriate deadlines, obtaining signatures as needed, meeting with the appropriate department to discuss the new course, etc. To begin the process, the proposing teacher must complete the form 4180 F1, discuss the new course with the building principal and department chair and obtain signatures, and send the completed form to the Executive Director of Teaching and Learning not later than November 15.

One new course per teacher at a school is the limit per year. Multiple courses from within a given department may also create a competition for students that may cause some/all such course requests to be denied.

District New Course Request Review Process

The District Instructional Council will review the new course requests at a meeting in late November/December each year. The meeting is open to administrators and teachers. The District Instructional Council will review each application in terms of the following criteria:

The established need for the new course and the capacity within the school that such a new course will be popular, while not having a deleterious impact on other viable and relevant courses.
The potential for a long-term, positive impact on the overall instructional program and alignment with district goals, state standards, CTE and/or enriched studies.
The capacity to provide an important contribution to the overall instructional program and the educational experiences of students.
Responsiveness to ELL/ESL students.
Responsiveness to students with learning disabilities and/or physical limitations.
Thoroughness and thoughtfulness of the application itself.
Degrees of support for the new course.
Proof must be provided that the assigned or requesting “new course” teacher has the Utah State approved endorsement/credentials to teach the course, or provide evidence the State Office has been contacted and will work with the teacher to earn the correct credentials in accordance with the Utah State Office of Education’s ARL or SAEP process.
A defensible course outline and course description.
A thorough and accurate representation of new costs associated with this proposed course, including curriculum materials, equipment, room needs/renovations, etc.
State course codes will be required.

All approvals will be granted for one year only. By January 10 each school year, the sponsoring teacher/school must submit written documentation making the case for the course to continue beyond its pilot year. Courses that are denied will come with a description of the reasons for being denied and whether or not the proposal has enough merit to be re-submitted in a future year.

This procedure does not include courses that are offered through Provo City School District’s eschool. Outside vendors are generally used for e-school courses.

Adopted

September 21, 2015

Policy and Forms

Policy No. 4180 New Courses within the Overall Academic Program

4180 F1 New Courses: New Course Approval Process

4180 F2 New Courses: New Course Middle School Approval Process