diff --git a/cms/djangoapps/contentstore/tests/test_checklists.py b/cms/djangoapps/contentstore/tests/test_checklists.py
index 5a99c37fbb..3b26f6d7d9 100644
--- a/cms/djangoapps/contentstore/tests/test_checklists.py
+++ b/cms/djangoapps/contentstore/tests/test_checklists.py
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 """ Unit tests for checklist methods in views.py. """
 from contentstore.utils import get_modulestore
+from contentstore.views.checklist import expand_checklist_action_url
 from xmodule.modulestore.inheritance import own_metadata
 from xmodule.modulestore.tests.factories import CourseFactory
 from django.core.urlresolvers import reverse
@@ -22,20 +23,16 @@ class ChecklistTestCase(CourseTestCase):
     def compare_checklists(self, persisted, request):
         """
         Handles url expansion as possible difference and descends into guts
-        :param persisted:
-        :param request:
         """
         self.assertEqual(persisted['short_description'], request['short_description'])
-        compare_urls = (persisted.get('action_urls_expanded') == request.get('action_urls_expanded'))
-        pers, req = None, None
-        for pers, req in zip(persisted['items'], request['items']):
+        expanded_checklist = expand_checklist_action_url(self.course, persisted)
+        for pers, req in zip(expanded_checklist['items'], request['items']):
             self.assertEqual(pers['short_description'], req['short_description'])
-        self.assertEqual(pers['long_description'], req['long_description'])
-        self.assertEqual(pers['is_checked'], req['is_checked'])
-        if compare_urls:
+            self.assertEqual(pers['long_description'], req['long_description'])
+            self.assertEqual(pers['is_checked'], req['is_checked'])
             self.assertEqual(pers['action_url'], req['action_url'])
-        self.assertEqual(pers['action_text'], req['action_text'])
-        self.assertEqual(pers['action_external'], req['action_external'])
+            self.assertEqual(pers['action_text'], req['action_text'])
+            self.assertEqual(pers['action_external'], req['action_external'])
 
     def test_get_checklists(self):
         """ Tests the get checklists method. """
@@ -46,6 +43,11 @@ class ChecklistTestCase(CourseTestCase):
         })
         response = self.client.get(checklists_url)
         self.assertContains(response, "Getting Started With Studio")
+        # Verify expansion of action URL happened.
+        self.assertContains(response, '/mitX/333/team/Checklists_Course')
+        # Verify persisted checklist does NOT have expanded URL.
+        checklist_0 = self.get_persisted_checklists()[0]
+        self.assertEqual('ManageUsers', get_action_url(checklist_0, 0))
         payload = response.content
 
         # Now delete the checklists from the course and verify they get repopulated (for courses
@@ -67,7 +69,11 @@ class ChecklistTestCase(CourseTestCase):
             'name': self.course.location.name})
 
         returned_checklists = json.loads(self.client.get(update_url).content)
-        for pay, resp in zip(self.get_persisted_checklists(), returned_checklists):
+        # Verify that persisted checklists do not have expanded action URLs.
+        # compare_checklists will verify that returned_checklists DO have expanded action URLs.
+        pers = self.get_persisted_checklists()
+        self.assertEqual('CourseOutline', get_first_item(pers[1]).get('action_url'))
+        for pay, resp in zip(pers, returned_checklists):
             self.compare_checklists(pay, resp)
 
     def test_update_checklists_index_ignored_on_get(self):
@@ -103,19 +109,21 @@ class ChecklistTestCase(CourseTestCase):
         update_url = reverse('checklists_updates', kwargs={'org': self.course.location.org,
                                                            'course': self.course.location.course,
                                                            'name': self.course.location.name,
-                                                           'checklist_index': 2})
+                                                           'checklist_index': 1})
 
-        def get_first_item(checklist):
-            return checklist['items'][0]
-
-        payload = self.course.checklists[2]
+        payload = self.course.checklists[1]
         self.assertFalse(get_first_item(payload).get('is_checked'))
+        self.assertEqual('CourseOutline', get_first_item(payload).get('action_url'))
         get_first_item(payload)['is_checked'] = True
 
         returned_checklist = json.loads(self.client.post(update_url, json.dumps(payload), "application/json").content)
         self.assertTrue(get_first_item(returned_checklist).get('is_checked'))
-        pers = self.get_persisted_checklists()
-        self.compare_checklists(pers[2], returned_checklist)
+        persisted_checklist = self.get_persisted_checklists()[1]
+        # Verify that persisted checklist does not have expanded action URLs.
+        # compare_checklists will verify that returned_checklist DOES have expanded action URLs.
+        self.assertEqual('CourseOutline', get_first_item(persisted_checklist).get('action_url'))
+        self.compare_checklists(persisted_checklist, returned_checklist)
+
 
     def test_update_checklists_delete_unsupported(self):
         """ Delete operation is not supported. """
@@ -125,3 +133,36 @@ class ChecklistTestCase(CourseTestCase):
                                                            'checklist_index': 100})
         response = self.client.delete(update_url)
         self.assertEqual(response.status_code, 405)
+
+    def test_expand_checklist_action_url(self):
+        """
+        Tests the method to expand checklist action url.
+        """
+
+        def test_expansion(checklist, index, stored, expanded):
+            """
+            Tests that the expected expanded value is returned for the item at the given index.
+
+            Also verifies that the original checklist is not modified.
+            """
+            self.assertEqual(get_action_url(checklist, index), stored)
+            expanded_checklist = expand_checklist_action_url(self.course, checklist)
+            self.assertEqual(get_action_url(expanded_checklist, index), expanded)
+            # Verify no side effect in the original list.
+            self.assertEqual(get_action_url(checklist, index), stored)
+
+        test_expansion(self.course.checklists[0], 0, 'ManageUsers', '/mitX/333/team/Checklists_Course')
+        test_expansion(self.course.checklists[1], 1, 'CourseOutline', '/mitX/333/course/Checklists_Course')
+        test_expansion(self.course.checklists[2], 0, 'http://help.edge.edx.org/', 'http://help.edge.edx.org/')
+
+
+def get_first_item(checklist):
+    """ Returns the first item from the checklist. """
+    return checklist['items'][0]
+
+
+def get_action_url(checklist, index):
+    """
+    Returns the action_url for the item at the specified index in the given checklist.
+    """
+    return checklist['items'][index]['action_url']
diff --git a/cms/djangoapps/contentstore/views/checklist.py b/cms/djangoapps/contentstore/views/checklist.py
index 030aa70693..773ec087eb 100644
--- a/cms/djangoapps/contentstore/views/checklist.py
+++ b/cms/djangoapps/contentstore/views/checklist.py
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import json
+import copy
 
 from util.json_request import JsonResponse
 from django.http import HttpResponseBadRequest
@@ -32,19 +33,16 @@ def get_checklists(request, org, course, name):
 
     # If course was created before checklists were introduced, copy them over
     # from the template.
-    copied = False
     if not course_module.checklists:
         course_module.checklists = CourseDescriptor.checklists.default
-        copied = True
-
-    checklists, modified = expand_checklist_action_urls(course_module)
-    if copied or modified:
         course_module.save()
         modulestore.update_metadata(location, own_metadata(course_module))
+
+    expanded_checklists = expand_all_action_urls(course_module)
     return render_to_response('checklists.html',
                               {
                                   'context_course': course_module,
-                                  'checklists': checklists
+                                  'checklists': expanded_checklists
                               })
 
 
@@ -68,14 +66,20 @@ def update_checklist(request, org, course, name, checklist_index=None):
     if request.method in ("POST", "PUT"):
         if checklist_index is not None and 0 <= int(checklist_index) < len(course_module.checklists):
             index = int(checklist_index)
-            course_module.checklists[index] = json.loads(request.body)
+            persisted_checklist = course_module.checklists[index]
+            modified_checklist = json.loads(request.body)
+            # Only thing the user can modify is the "checked" state.
+            # We don't want to persist what comes back from the client because it will
+            # include the expanded action URLs (which are non-portable).
+            for item_index, item in enumerate(modified_checklist.get('items')):
+                persisted_checklist['items'][item_index]['is_checked'] = item['is_checked']
             # seeming noop which triggers kvs to record that the metadata is
             # not default
             course_module.checklists = course_module.checklists
-            checklists, _ = expand_checklist_action_urls(course_module)
             course_module.save()
             modulestore.update_metadata(location, own_metadata(course_module))
-            return JsonResponse(checklists[index])
+            expanded_checklist = expand_checklist_action_url(course_module, persisted_checklist)
+            return JsonResponse(expanded_checklist)
         else:
             return HttpResponseBadRequest(
                 ( "Could not save checklist state because the checklist index "
@@ -85,23 +89,30 @@ def update_checklist(request, org, course, name, checklist_index=None):
     elif request.method == 'GET':
         # In the JavaScript view initialize method, we do a fetch to get all
         # the checklists.
-        checklists, modified = expand_checklist_action_urls(course_module)
-        if modified:
-            course_module.save()
-            modulestore.update_metadata(location, own_metadata(course_module))
-        return JsonResponse(checklists)
+        expanded_checklists = expand_all_action_urls(course_module)
+        return JsonResponse(expanded_checklists)
 
 
-def expand_checklist_action_urls(course_module):
+def expand_all_action_urls(course_module):
     """
-    Gets the checklists out of the course module and expands their action urls
-    if they have not yet been expanded.
+    Gets the checklists out of the course module and expands their action urls.
 
-    Returns the checklists with modified urls, as well as a boolean
-    indicating whether or not the checklists were modified.
+    Returns a copy of the checklists with modified urls, without modifying the persisted version
+    of the checklists.
     """
-    checklists = course_module.checklists
-    modified = False
+    expanded_checklists = []
+    for checklist in course_module.checklists:
+        expanded_checklists.append(expand_checklist_action_url(course_module, checklist))
+    return expanded_checklists
+
+
+def expand_checklist_action_url(course_module, checklist):
+    """
+    Expands the action URLs for a given checklist and returns the modified version.
+
+    The method does a copy of the input checklist and does not modify the input argument.
+    """
+    expanded_checklist = copy.deepcopy(checklist)
     urlconf_map = {
         "ManageUsers": "manage_users",
         "SettingsDetails": "settings_details",
@@ -109,19 +120,15 @@ def expand_checklist_action_urls(course_module):
         "CourseOutline": "course_index",
         "Checklists": "checklists",
     }
-    for checklist in checklists:
-        if not checklist.get('action_urls_expanded', False):
-            for item in checklist.get('items'):
-                action_url = item.get('action_url')
-                if action_url not in urlconf_map:
-                    continue
-                urlconf_name = urlconf_map[action_url]
-                item['action_url'] = reverse(urlconf_name, kwargs={
-                    'org': course_module.location.org,
-                    'course': course_module.location.course,
-                    'name': course_module.location.name,
-                })
-            checklist['action_urls_expanded'] = True
-            modified = True
+    for item in expanded_checklist.get('items'):
+        action_url = item.get('action_url')
+        if action_url not in urlconf_map:
+            continue
+        urlconf_name = urlconf_map[action_url]
+        item['action_url'] = reverse(urlconf_name, kwargs={
+            'org': course_module.location.org,
+            'course': course_module.location.course,
+            'name': course_module.location.name,
+        })
 
-    return checklists, modified
+    return expanded_checklist
diff --git a/common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/xml_module.py b/common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/xml_module.py
index 13f0fddd48..5fa9ff3260 100644
--- a/common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/xml_module.py
+++ b/common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/xml_module.py
@@ -164,7 +164,7 @@ class XmlDescriptor(XModuleDescriptor):
                          # Used for storing xml attributes between import and export, for roundtrips
                          'xml_attributes')
 
-    metadata_to_export_to_policy = ('discussion_topics')
+    metadata_to_export_to_policy = ('discussion_topics', 'checklists')
 
     @classmethod
     def get_map_for_field(cls, attr):
diff --git a/common/test/data/toy/policies/2012_Fall.json b/common/test/data/toy/policies/2012_Fall.json
index cfa5014a9b..a762123b04 100644
--- a/common/test/data/toy/policies/2012_Fall.json
+++ b/common/test/data/toy/policies/2012_Fall.json
@@ -38,5 +38,164 @@
     },
     "video/Welcome": {
         "display_name": "Welcome"
-    }
+    },
+    "checklists": [
+        {
+            "short_description": "Getting Started With Studio",
+            "items": [
+                {
+                    "action_external": false,
+                    "short_description": "Add Course Team Members",
+                    "action_url": "ManageUsers",
+                    "action_text": "Edit Course Team",
+                    "is_checked": true,
+                    "long_description": "Grant your collaborators permission to edit your course so you can work together."
+                },
+                {
+                    "action_external": false,
+                    "short_description": "Set Important Dates for Your Course",
+                    "action_url": "SettingsDetails",
+                    "action_text": "Edit Course Details &amp; Schedule",
+                    "is_checked": false,
+                    "long_description": "Establish your course's student enrollment and launch dates on the Schedule and Details page."
+                },
+                {
+                    "action_external": false,
+                    "short_description": "Draft Your Course's Grading Policy",
+                    "action_url": "SettingsGrading",
+                    "action_text": "Edit Grading Settings",
+                    "is_checked": false,
+                    "long_description": "Set up your assignment types and grading policy even if you haven't created all your assignments."
+                },
+                {
+                    "action_external": false,
+                    "short_description": "Explore the Other Studio Checklists",
+                    "action_url": "",
+                    "action_text": "",
+                    "is_checked": false,
+                    "long_description": "Discover other available course authoring tools, and find help when you need it."
+                }
+            ]
+        },
+        {
+            "short_description": "Draft a Rough Course Outline",
+            "items": [
+                {
+                    "action_external": false,
+                    "short_description": "Create Your First Section and Subsection",
+                    "action_url": "CourseOutline",
+                    "action_text": "Edit Course Outline",
+                    "is_checked": false,
+                    "long_description": "Use your course outline to build your first Section and Subsection."
+                },
+                {
+                    "action_external": false,
+                    "short_description": "Set Section Release Dates",
+                    "action_url": "CourseOutline",
+                    "action_text": "Edit Course Outline",
+                    "is_checked": false,
+                    "long_description": "Specify the release dates for each Section in your course. Sections become visible to students on their release dates."
+                },
+                {
+                    "action_external": false,
+                    "short_description": "Designate a Subsection as Graded",
+                    "action_url": "CourseOutline",
+                    "action_text": "Edit Course Outline",
+                    "is_checked": false,
+                    "long_description": "Set a Subsection to be graded as a specific assignment type. Assignments within graded Subsections count toward a student's final grade."
+                },
+                {
+                    "action_external": false,
+                    "short_description": "Reordering Course Content",
+                    "action_url": "CourseOutline",
+                    "action_text": "Edit Course Outline",
+                    "is_checked": false,
+                    "long_description": "Use drag and drop to reorder the content in your course."
+                },
+                {
+                    "action_external": false,
+                    "short_description": "Renaming Sections",
+                    "action_url": "CourseOutline",
+                    "action_text": "Edit Course Outline",
+                    "is_checked": true,
+                    "long_description": "Rename Sections by clicking the Section name from the Course Outline."
+                },
+                {
+                    "action_external": false,
+                    "short_description": "Deleting Course Content",
+                    "action_url": "CourseOutline",
+                    "action_text": "Edit Course Outline",
+                    "is_checked": false,
+                    "long_description": "Delete Sections, Subsections, or Units you don't need anymore. Be careful, as there is no Undo function."
+                },
+                {
+                    "action_external": false,
+                    "short_description": "Add an Instructor-Only Section to Your Outline",
+                    "action_url": "CourseOutline",
+                    "action_text": "Edit Course Outline",
+                    "is_checked": false,
+                    "long_description": "Some course authors find using a section for unsorted, in-progress work useful. To do this, create a section and set the release date to the distant future."
+                }
+            ]
+        },
+        {
+            "short_description": "Explore edX's Support Tools",
+            "items": [
+                {
+                    "action_external": true,
+                    "short_description": "Explore the Studio Help Forum",
+                    "action_url": "http://help.edge.edx.org/",
+                    "action_text": "Visit Studio Help",
+                    "is_checked": false,
+                    "long_description": "Access the Studio Help forum from the menu that appears when you click your user name in the top right corner of Studio."
+                },
+                {
+                    "action_external": true,
+                    "short_description": "Enroll in edX 101",
+                    "action_url": "https://edge.edx.org/courses/edX/edX101/How_to_Create_an_edX_Course/about",
+                    "action_text": "Register for edX 101",
+                    "is_checked": false,
+                    "long_description": "Register for edX 101, edX's primer for course creation."
+                },
+                {
+                    "action_external": true,
+                    "short_description": "Download the Studio Documentation",
+                    "action_url": "http://files.edx.org/Getting_Started_with_Studio.pdf",
+                    "action_text": "Download Documentation",
+                    "is_checked": false,
+                    "long_description": "Download the searchable Studio reference documentation in PDF form."
+                }
+            ]
+        },
+        {
+            "short_description": "Draft Your Course About Page",
+            "items": [
+                {
+                    "action_external": false,
+                    "short_description": "Draft a Course Description",
+                    "action_url": "SettingsDetails",
+                    "action_text": "Edit Course Schedule &amp; Details",
+                    "is_checked": false,
+                    "long_description": "Courses on edX have an About page that includes a course video, description, and more. Draft the text students will read before deciding to enroll in your course."
+                },
+                {
+                    "action_external": false,
+                    "short_description": "Add Staff Bios",
+                    "action_url": "SettingsDetails",
+                    "action_text": "Edit Course Schedule &amp; Details",
+                    "is_checked": false,
+                    "long_description": "Showing prospective students who their instructor will be is helpful. Include staff bios on the course About page."
+                },
+                {
+                    "action_external": false,
+                    "short_description": "Add Course FAQs",
+                    "action_url": "SettingsDetails",
+                    "action_text": "Edit Course Schedule &amp; Details",
+                    "is_checked": false,
+                    "long_description": "Include a short list of frequently asked questions about your course."
+                },
+                {
+                    "action_external": false, "short_description": "Add Course Prerequisites", "action_url": "SettingsDetails", "action_text": "Edit Course Schedule &amp; Details", "is_checked": false, "long_description": "Let students know what knowledge and/or skills they should have before they enroll in your course."}]
+        }
+    ]
 }