Frequently Asked Questions

If a student is homeschooled or enrolled in NDCDE’s diploma program, parents/guardians are already permitted to serve as learning coaches (LC). Parents of homeschool & diploma program students may complete the Learning Coach Exam Change Form if they are not currently their student’s learning coach, but would like to be.

The local school must provide us with permission for parents to serve as learning coaches. NDCDE has reached out to all local school with which we currently work regarding this issue. We kindly ask that you please be patient while we are awaiting responses, as schools are working tirelessly preparing both short and long-term academic plans.

No. It certainly can be, however, since the student is still under jurisdiction of the school district, the district may allow another individual (a parent for instance) to serve as a learning coach.

Yes. However, schools are encouraged to communicate with their parents the school policy on approved learning coaches so that parents are aware of who they can place on the enrollment form. School administrators are also provided the opportunity to correct parent enrollment submissions when they receive the emailed enrollment report from NDCDE.

Students can be enrolled in courses at any time and choose a specified start date for the course to begin at the time of enrollment. The end date is auto generated for 20 weeks from the start date. But that can be adjusted as well to match the school’s calendar.

If you would like your students placed together in a course with the same CDE teacher, yes. Please register all the students at the same time and place a notation on the enrollment form to place all the students with the same teacher.

Yes. Any school administrator approved school personnel can do so; however, they would need to have an online store account set-up. To do this, school administration must send the individual’s name, phone number, and email address to our office manager, Laurie Tuma, using our Contact NDCDE Staff Form.

A student or parent may request an NDCDE course. To request district payment, the student must obtain and submit the NDCDE Virtual Course Enrollment Application: Student Request for District Paid NDCDE Course, or a district form containing the same required information. The district must approve and pay when: (1) the course is not offered locally; (2) a scheduling conflict prevents the student from taking the locally offered course; (3) the student previously failed the locally offered course and no other teacher is available for the retake; or (4) the course is needed for Graduation and/or Choice Ready requirements and on-time graduation. The district may also consider a compelling Reason 5 and decides whether to pay for retakes of failed NDCDE courses. The district enrolls the student after approval. A denial is subject to the district’s written appeal process.

Who pays depends on the student, course, and district decision under the current DPI application process. Districts must pay approved applications meeting one of the four required circumstances above. Parents are responsible for dual-credit tuition. Homeschool students may self-pay or may take NDCDE courses through a school district under the district’s virtual-instruction rules. For additonal information, review CDE's Course Enrollment Fees and the DPI Virtual Education FAQs effective August 1, 2026. 
NOTE: Students wishing to take an NDCDE course that is district paid, much complete the NDCDE Virtual Course Enrollment Application BEFORE enrolling.

The district must provide a written appeal process for denied applications. Questions about a denial or appeal should be directed to the student’s district. Districts must also track the number of approved and denied applications for reporting purposes.

Yes. See requirements in NDCC 15.1-07-25.4 on policy requirements associated with counting these students in your ADM. Remember that students enrolled in local districts still belong to the district when enrolled in NDCDE courses. When a North Dakota public school district purchases a course from NDCDE, it subcontracts NDCDE, an ND DPI approved virtual school, to provide instruction and curriculum.

No. If a student chooses to graduate from NDCDE, they are no longer a student enrolled in their district of residence and become a “home school student.” Parents/students become responsible for the cost of enrolling in NDCDE courses when enrolling in its diploma program.

Yes, if enrolling in our diploma program. See our Earn Your Diploma page.

No. All common features (email, file sharing, teams, collaboration etc) available within the ND K12 Office 365 tenant (k12.nd.us) will work between your students and NDCDE.

Maybe. If your school manages its own G-Suite or Office 365 tenant, you will want to make sure they can communicate with users outside of that environment before submitting any enrollments. All NDCDE instructors (and staff) communicate with students via a ND K12 Office 365 identity (k12.nd.us). Your technology coordinator will want to make sure students at your school can send/receive email and share files with users outside of your tenant.

NDCDE applies two methods to assure students assigned IEPs and 504 Plans are identified:

1. NDCDE’s enrollment form asks the enrollee (student, parent or school personnel) to indicate the applicable Plan(s).
2. NDCDE’s teachers conduct an initial assessment of each student assigned to them. The initial assessment identifies many factors that impact student learning, including IEPs and 504 Plans.

Once identified, NDCDE’s administrative staff is assigned to acquire documented details of a student’s Plan(s). Once obtained, the information is provided to the assigned instructor. Based on the information provided, NDCDE instructors determine how the accommodations and/or modifications assigned to the student can be supported within NDCDE’s digital environment. The determinations are shared with the student, and as appropriate and applicable, with the education professional assigned to the IEP or 504 Plan(s). NDCDE instructors are given the authority to communicate directly with the assigned professionals for ongoing consultation.