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Garland ISD is planning on expanding its virtual learning options, the district announced in a letter to families.
This comes after Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill Thursday that expands access to virtual learning and makes state funding available for school districts with online programs.
The new bill allows Garland ISD to open its ICON Virtual School as an accredited program for kindergarten through sixth grade. Under the new state law, SB15, pre-K education is not eligible for fully funded remote learning.
In recent weeks, Garland ISD has offered an asynchronous, temporary parent-led virtual learning option for students in kindergarten through sixth grade. ICON is a separate program, which would offer a fully remote, real-time learning option.
After a state bill that would have provided accreditation and funding for virtual learning failed in a summer legislative session, Garland ISD announced it would not be able to offer the ICON Virtual School.
With SB15 signed by Gov. Abbott, the option is back on the table. SB15 will fund and accredit ICON, under specific guidelines.
Some of the eligibility criteria for ICON:
- Elementary school students who were enrolled in face-to-face learning for at least 50% of the 2020-21 school year and are currently in good standing with at least 90% attendance.
- Students who are medically fragile.
- Students who have been placed in a remote learning setting by an Admission, Review and Dismissal (ARD) Committee.
- Elementary school students who were enrolled in remote instruction for at least 50% of the 2020-21 school year and are currently in good standing with at least 90% attendance, and who also meet the following criteria: received a 70 or above in core classes in the 2020-21 school year, passed STAAR and EOC testing in the 2020-21 school year or demonstrate grade-level proficiency on a different assessment that shows grade-level proficiency in the Texas curriculum.
Gov. Abbott signed SB15 into law amidst a statewide surge in COVID-19 cases. In Garland, active cases have risen 43% in the past two weeks.
A Dallas Morning News analysis of North Texas school systems’ COVID-19 cases reported through Aug. 29 found that Garland ISD reported the most cases — 1,306 — among students since the start of the school year Aug. 2, which was earlier than most.
In North Texas, pediatric hospitalizations hit an all-time high, with children under the age of 12 not yet approved to receive vaccines.
The district is still ironing out the details. As soon as the virtual school program is finalized, an application will be made available to families, the letter from the district concluded.