The purpose of this paper is to address the need for guidance on professional standards for educational practices in online education. Since 1995, the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges (ASCCC) has provided leadership in the introduction and successful implementation of distance education. During this time, the ASCCC has played a leading role in shaping policies and procedures for distance and online education in order to ensure that students are receiving the most effective educational experience possible. At the Spring 2016 Plenary Session, the delegates adopted Resolution 11.01 (S16) calling for an update of the ASCCC paper on best practices for online education. Rather than attempting to update the 2008 paper on educational technology, as called for in the resolution, the ASCCC Executive Committee decided that, given the recent and fast-moving developments in distance and online education, a more useful approach would be to write a new paper exclusively focused on online education. This new paper addresses several aspects of online education, including suggestions for local senates when they are looking to adopt effective practices, interacting with student services, creating and ensuring practices around accessibility, developing curriculum designed to promote student success while maintaining sufficient rigor, and working to ensure equity in the online environment.