This afternoon, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) published a modification to its April 9th distance education variance. Click here for today’s updated variance, which changes application of the expanded distance education from students who began instruction prior to March 9th to students who began instruction prior to March 20th.
As was provided in the April 9th distance education variance, today’s IDFPR variance (Click here) also allows online education in both theory and practical courses up to a maximum of 50% of a student’s hours, but applies such variance to students who began instruction before March 20th, which is the date of the Governor’s “stay at home” Executive Order 2020-10. Similar to the variance issued last month, please review the conditions and subject matter areas for online education of practical curriculum; the referenced administrative rule categories can be found by clicking here.
Students may perform hands-on activities related to practical curriculum so long as the distance education does not involve excluded procedures AND, as IDFPR further clarified last month, the hands-on activities are not done on another person in order to be in compliance with community spread prevention guidance by the Illinois Department of Public Health.
For students who began instruction on or after March 20th, the “curriculum requirements” sections for each license in Title 68, Part 1175 of the Illinois Administrative Code still allow for “online hours in theory” to be provided up to “10% of the hours required.”
This variance will expire when the Illinois Gubernatorial Disaster Proclamation has been lifted. The association will be working with IDFPR on accommodations and considerations for schools after the disaster proclamation is lifted given the potential for ongoing community spread prevention guidance from the Illinois Department of Public Health through the Restore Illinois plan.