Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that appropriates funds for virtual learning until September 2023 and gives local school districts and charter schools the autonomy to set up their own virtual learning programs.

Highlights:

• Specifies that rules proposed by the board or this law may allow a candidate to satisfy certification requirements through an internship that provides the candidate employment as a teacher for courses offered through a local remote learning program or the state virtual school network. This subsection expires September 1, 2023 (Sec. 1).

• Authorizes a school district or open-enrollment charter school to adopt a policy to exempt students from the requirements of this law for one or more courses identified in the policy that is offered under a local remote learning program. This subsection expires September 1, 2023 (Sec. 2).

• Authorizes a school district or open-enrollment charter school assigned an overall performance rating of C or higher for the preceding school year or the most recent school year in which a performance rating was assigned may operate a local remote learning program to offer virtual courses outside the state virtual school network to eligible students (Sec. 3.a).

• Requires a school district or open-enrollment charter school that operates a full-time local remote learning program to (Sec. 3.b):

• Include in the program:

• At least one grade level in which an assessment instrument is required to be administered, including each subject for which an assessment instrument is required; or

• A complete high school program, including each course for which an end-of-course assessment instrument is required to be administered; and

• Offer the option for a student’s parent or person standing in parental relation to select in-person instruction for the student.

• Requires the indicators for reporting purposes must include, for each school district and campus, the performance of students who spend at least half of the students’ instructional time in virtual courses offered under a local remote learning program. This subsection expires September 1, 2023 (Sec. 4).

• Requires the Texas Education Commissioner to create an asynchronous progression funding method for determining average daily attendance based on full and partial semester course completion for a dropout recovery school or program (Sec. 5.m-1).

• Authorizes a school district or open-enrollment charter school to provide one or more off-campus electronic courses, an off-campus electronic program, or an instructional program that combines in-person instruction and off-campus electronic instruction to students enrolled in the district or school who have reasonable access to in-person services at a district or school facility (Sec. 7.c).

• Authorizes a school district or open-enrollment charter school that operated during the 2020-2021 school year a full-time virtual program outside the state virtual network to (Sec. 7.d):

• Continue to operate the virtual program on a full-time basis;

• Apply the same enrollment and transfer criteria used during the 2020-2021 school year; and

• Offer the program to students in any grade level or combination of grade levels from kindergarten through grade 12 as long as the program includes at least one grade level for which an assessment instrument is administered

• Requires the commissioner to create an asynchronous progression funding method that may be used to determine the amount of the district’s entitlement based on full and partial semester course completion (Sec. 8.b-1).

Full Bill Text