Austin ISD - Announcement: Remote Learning's Future In Texas Lege's Hands

Press release from Austin ISD - Announcement:

May 20, 2021

By Eddie Villa

All eyes are on the Texas legislature as House Bill 1468 makes its way to a senate hearing on Friday. HB 1468 is the only remaining bill that would allow school districts to create a virtual school for families for the next school year.

Austin ISD is closely following the bill that would allow remote learning to remain an option in the upcoming 2021-22 school year. Under the bill, students enrolled in the program would count toward the district’s average daily attendance in the same manner as in-person students, ensuring total funding.

The district’s Board of Trustees expressed their support for HB 1468 at a press conference. They said the bill would expand public school choice while providing local control.

“We support this as a temporary solution, an option, to give flexibility to districts and families as we come out of the pandemic,” Trustee Arati Singh said. 
 
Under the bill, virtual learning would be entirely synchronous instruction, meaning the teacher and the student are engaged at the same time and can interact. If needed, districts may provide virtual instruction in combination with in-person instruction to meet the needs of individual students, according to the bill. 

The online curriculum would be available to students in the third through 12th grade. While AISD anticipates a traditional school environment in the fall, curriculum leaders are working to develop a virtual model so teachers are prepared if the bill is passed. 

In community conversations earlier in May, Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde confirmed that in 2021-22 there would be no concurrent instruction, a practice where staff teach both in-person and online at the same time. The district’s goal is to make sure teachers only provide instruction virtually or in person, which leads to higher-quality instruction for students. 

“[Concurrent teaching] is not something that is sustainable,” Elizalde said. “We all have done amazing work trying to do the best we can, but we have to recognize that this cannot be the delivery.”

This press release was produced by Austin ISD - Announcement. The views expressed here are the author’s own.