Enrolled Bill Summary

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Senate Bill 569 amends the Education Code to set out provisions authorizing a public school district or open-enrollment charter school to deliver instruction through hybrid courses, virtual courses, full-time hybrid programs, and full-time virtual programs and, if authorized by the commissioner of education, to operate a full-time hybrid campus or a full-time virtual campus. The bill also authorizes a consortium of districts or charter schools, a public institution of higher education, or a regional education service center to deliver instruction through hybrid or virtual courses in the same manner provided for a district or charter school. The bill repeals provisions relating to the state virtual school network and makes certain provisions currently applicable to that network applicable instead to virtual or hybrid courses offered under the bill's provisions.

With respect to hybrid and virtual courses, Senate Bill 569 sets out provisions relating to course quality requirements, the rights of students and teachers, administration of academic skills tests, tuition and fees for certain courses, and attendance for class credit or a grade. With respect to full-time hybrid or full-time virtual campuses, the bill sets out provisions relating to the process for authorization of such a campus, the revocation of an authorization, student enrollment eligibility, student rights, campus designations, and funding. The bill also includes provisions regarding accountability for a private or third party acting as a whole program virtual instruction provider, participation in extracurricular activities, and the reporting and verification of attendance, among other topics. The bill requires the Texas Education Agency to publish a list of virtual courses offered by districts and charter schools, to develop professional development courses and materials for educators in providing high-quality virtual education, and to provide grants and technical assistance to districts and charter schools to aid in the establishment of high-quality full-time hybrid or full-time virtual campuses.

Senate Bill 569 prohibits a district or charter school from actively discouraging a student from enrolling in a virtual or hybrid course. The bill authorizes a district or charter school to deny a request to enroll a student in a virtual or hybrid course based on a determination that the cost of the course is too high, among other grounds for denial under existing law, and requires a district or charter school that denies such a request to provide to the student and the student's parent a written explanation of the denial that includes information about the appeal process.

Senate Bill 569 requires a district or charter school, before expelling a student, to consider the appropriateness and feasibility of enrolling the student in a full-time hybrid or virtual program or campus as an alternative to expulsion, with certain exceptions. The bill requires a remote or hybrid dropout recovery education program to be a full-time hybrid or virtual program or campus and revises provisions relating to the computation of average daily attendance (ADA) with respect to students in a dropout recovery education program.

Senate Bill 569 requires the commissioner, in a school year in which the occurrence of an emergency or crisis causes a statewide decrease in ADA of districts entitled to foundation school program funding or, if applicable, a regional decrease in the ADA of districts located in a specific region affected by an emergency or crisis, to modify or waive requirements applicable to the affected districts with respect to ADA and adopt appropriate safeguards to ensure the continued support and maintenance of an efficient system of public free schools and the continued delivery of high-quality instruction under that system.

Senate Bill 569 requires the allotment for a special-purpose school district operated by a general academic teaching institution to be determined as if the district were a full-time hybrid or virtual campus with no tier one local share. The bill requires a student receiving a full-time virtual education provided through a full-time virtual campus to be included in determining the number of students who are educationally disadvantaged and reside in an economically disadvantaged census block group for purposes of the compensatory education allotment.