Remote Learning
Remote Learning Overview
Local educational agencies (LEAs) currently have multiple options for providing remote learning for partial or full average daily attendance (ADA) outside of the Texas Virtual Schools Network. These options are outlined in our Non-TXVSN Remote Instruction Overview Document.
Non-TXVSN Remote Instruction Overview DocumentRemote Conferencing
Remote Conferencing is a mechanism by which remote instruction can be provided for students experiencing a temporary illness or who have been in close contact with someone with COVID-19. LEAs may count Remote Conferencing instruction as classroom time for Foundation School Program (FSP) funding purposes.
Remote Instruction Under SB 15
On September 9, 2021, Senate Bill 15 was signed into law and permits LEAs to receive ADA funding for students enrolled in a local remote learning program that meets specific criteria set forth in SB 15. The Texas Education Agency has released the following documents that provide an overview for districts that provide remote instruction.
Webinars
| Title (Click to Register) | Date | Download |
|---|---|---|
| SB 15 Overview | 9/17/2021 | Recording | Slides |
| Asynchronous Instruction and Attendance Tracking Best Practices | 10/13/2021 | Recording | Slides |
| Virtual and Hybrid Program Accelerator Informational Webinar | 11/02/2021 | Recording | Slides |
| Asynchronous Instruction and Learning Management Systems Overview Webinar | 11/17/2021 | Recording | Slides |
| Synchronous Instruction Best Practices Webinar | 11/18/2021 | Recording | Slides |
| Teacher Professional Development Resources and Best Practices | 01/27/2022 | Recording |
| PEIMS Reporting and Student Eligibility List | 02/24/2022 | Recording | Slides |
| Virtual/Hybrid CDCN Application Overview Webinar | 03/24/2022 | Recording | Slides |
| The Future of Virtual and Hybrid Learning: Continuation from the Texas Summit on Virtual and Hybrid Learning | 03/30/2023 | Recording |
Virtual and Hybrid Program Accelerator
TEA is offering resources to support virtual instruction, including the Virtual and Hybrid Program Accelerator (VHPA). For LEAs interested in partnering with a Technical Assistance (TA) provider and learning alongside other LEAs launching virtual or hybrid programs in SY22-23, we invite you to join the VHPA.
Participating LEAs will receive customized technical assistance to design, implement, and continuously improve their virtual or hybrid program. These supports include, but are not limited to, model design, strategic staffing, academic strategy, family engagement, supporting diverse learners, developing teachers, and other topics related to virtual and hybrid school programs.
All Texas LEAs that commit to creating a new virtual or hybrid program set to launch in school year 2022-23 are eligible to apply. The application can be downloaded here. Please submit completed applications to VHPA@tea.texas.gov.
Virtual and Hybrid Program Accelerator Application Process and Timeline
TEA reserves the right to modify the following deadlines and information.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| October 21, 2021 |
Applications Release: The application will be available on the Remote Learning webpage. |
| November 2, 2021 |
Information Webinar: Interested LEAs may learn more by registering for and attending a webinar. |
| November 12, 2021 |
Application Due: LEAs submit completed applications to VHPA@tea.texas.gov. These will be processed on a rolling basis until the application deadline. |
| November 8-19, 2021 |
Zoom Interviews: TEA staff will conduct zoom interviews with LEA Program leaders to add context to the written application and make an acceptance decision. You will receive an invite to interview upon your submission of your application. |
| December 1, 2021 |
Acceptance: Accepted applicants will be invited to join the program. |
| December 3, 2021 |
Cohort Launch- All accepted LEAs will participate in a cohort launch webinar. |
CDCN Guidance
For LEAs interested in seeking a new CDCN (County District Campus Number) for a full-time virtual campus or a hybrid campus delivering remote instruction under SB 15:
Guidance for LEAs Operating Local Remote Learning Programs
The TEA will grant new CDCNs for full-time virtual or hybrid campuses that meet key criteria with CDCNs starting in school year 2022-2023. TEA defines a full-time virtual campus as one where 100% of instruction is provided via remote learning, whereas a hybrid campus provides instruction via a combination of both face to face and remote learning. Please note that the TEA is unable to grant these new CDCNs to be effective in school year 2021-2022 given the timing of the passage of SB 15 September 9, 2021.
For those LEAs seeking to be granted a new CDCN, effective in school year 2022-2023, the application will be open in March, with a deadline of June 3, 2022 (originally 4/29/2022). An informational webinar walking through application information and criteria was hosted in March. As an overview, the application process will have two key components:
- Submission of an application and virtual/hybrid school plan to the TEA that demonstrates evidence of meeting all key requirements. This includes evidence of LEA board approval of the request for a new CDCN and virtual/hybrid school plan.
- Note: This application and plan will be scored against key rubric criteria (described in a high level manner in a link below, with more information forthcoming in the informational webinar noted above)
- Upon TEA approval of application in Step #1 – Complete this CDCN Request Form (currently unavailable) and submit to AskTED@tea.texas.gov or CharterAskTed@tea.texas.gov.
CDCN Requirements
- Assigned Campus Administrator
- Has enrolled students who are counted for average daily attendance
- Receives public funds as its primary support
- Has assigned instructional staff
- Provides instructional services to students
- Has one or more grades in the range from early childhood education through grade 12 or is ungraded
- Is not a program for students enrolled in another public school
- May provide a particular academic focus (e.g., magnet or special education campuses)
- Complies with Texas Laws
Please note that in order for open-enrollment charters to request a new CDCN, they must also submit and receive an expansion amendment.
*The application must be submitted by the superintendent or district AskTed Administrator.
Remote Learning Program CDCN Requirements
In addition to the requirements, below lists out the requirements for requesting a new County District Campus Number for the establishment of a virtual / hybrid new campus.
- Overall district-wide performance rating of C or higher in the school year 2018-2019, or the most recent rating received
- Include at least one STAAR-assessed grade level among the grade levels for which local remote learning is offered or include a complete high school program, including each course for which an end-of-course assessment is required to be administered.
- The number of students receiving remote instruction is capped at 10% of all enrolled students within a given LEA
- Provide families an on-campus option. Local remote learning may not be the sole option offered to families, in general or for any given day that remote instruction is offered.
- Meet the needs of and comply with all relevant federal and state law and policy with respect to students with disabilities and English learners who are enrolled in a remote program.
*Comply with all SB 15 LEA and Student Eligibility Criteria noted here.
In addition to the requirements noted above, LEAs must submit as part of their application a school plan that TEA will score against key rubric criteria TEA will seek evidence that the submitted plan is aligned to the Effective School Framework.
For LEAs who meet the requirements listed in 48.0071(c), we are offering an expedited CDCN approval process. The requirements, as specified in Senate Bill 15, are listed below:
48.0071(c) A school district or open-enrollment charter school that operated during the 2020-21 school year a full-time virtual program outside the state virtual network under Chapter 30A with at least 10% of the enrollment for the program including students who resided outside the geographic area served by the district or school may:
- 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 under Section 39.023.
(d) This section expires September 1, 2023.
In order to receive a CDCN that is effective in school year 2022-23, LEAs must:
- Submit a request for verification by 5:00 PM on April 15, 2022. All submissions will be reviewed and verified by April 29, 2022. Note that this verification request will require evidence that:
- Of your LEAs full-time virtual program enrollment last year, more than 10 percent of students enrolled resided outside of the geographic boundaries of your LEA's
- Your LEA's full-time virtual program advertised as open to students across the state of Texas
- If your LEA meets the criteria, you will be invited to complete the expedited CDCN process in Step 2 of the process.
- After receiving confirmation of approval from TEA in Step 1 of the process – Complete process to request a new CDCN within the AskTED system. TEA will provide further instructions to support LEAs in completing this step. LEAs may request for a CDCN for either a K-12 campus or a K-8 and 9th-12th Grade Campus. LEAs may not request more than two CDCNs for their local remote learning programs.
- After CDCN has been established in Step 2 of the process – Assign students to new CDCN.
Timeline for Requesting an Expedited CDCN for the 2022-23 SY
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| Week of March 21, 2022 | Verification Process Opens |
| April 15, 2022 |
LEAs Submit Request for Verification via Smartsheet Form Rolling Basis: LEAs Notified of Approval or Denial |
| April 29, 2022 |
Final LEA Notification of Approval CDCN Application Opens |
| May 20, 2022 |
CDCN Applications Processed Rolling Basis: Notification of approved CDCNs |
Please note that all interested LEAs must meet all requirements detailed in SB 15 TAA and are listed below:
To be eligible for funding for local remote learning, LEAs must:
- Have an overall district-wide performance rating of C or higher in school year 2018-19, or the year the latest performance rating was given.
- Include at least one STAAR-assessed grade level among the grade levels for which local remote learning is offered or include a complete high school program, including each course for which an end-of-course assessment is required to be administered.
- Administer assessments to students enrolled in local remote learning in the same manner as students learning on campus. LEAs must also periodically assess students in the remote learning program to assess progress.
- Provide students enrolled in remote learning the ability to participate in any extracurricular activity sponsored or sanctioned by the LEA or by the University Interscholastic League in the same manner as other students, with the potential exception of students outside the LEA's geographic boundaries, who should have access to extracurricular activities in the same manner that they did in the LEA's school year 2020-21 program.
- Meet the needs of and comply with all relevant federal and state law and policy with respect to students with disabilities and English learners who are enrolled in a remote program.
- With respect to teachers delivering instruction, LEAs must:
- Provide professional development on virtual instruction to all teachers delivering instruction in a local remote learning program.
- Ensure that teachers delivering instruction in a full-time remote program have not been coerced in any way to take their full-time remote learning instruction position.
- Ensure teachers are not delivering instruction concurrently; concurrent instruction is instruction delivered to both on-campus and remote learners during the same class period, at the same time.
Critically, LEAs may only count a student toward ADA if that student meets eligibility requirements in the following areas:
Based on student information from the preceding school year, if a student received remote instruction for a majority of their instructional days in the previous school year (e.g., 88+ days in a 175-day instructional year), they also must have:
- Achieved satisfactory achievement or higher on each STAAR assessment administered.
- If a STAAR assessment was not administered but the student was in a grade/subject for which STAAR should have been administered, a different assessment can be administered that shows grade level proficiency in TEKS (e.g., the STAAR Beginning of Year (BOY) assessment).
- Had a number of unexcused absences that is 10 percent or fewer out of all instructional days.
- Earned a grade of C or higher in the foundation curriculum courses taken virtually or remotely in the preceding school year.
If a student did not receive a majority of the student’s instructional time in the preceding school year via remote instruction, then the criteria noted above do not apply to determine student eligibility for remote learning. However, criteria noted in the next section apply to all remote instruction students.
Based on student information from the current school year:
- The student is enrolled in a school district or open-enrollment charter school.
- The student has fewer than 10 unexcused absences while enrolled in local remote instruction over a six-month period.
For LEAs who meet the requirements listed in 48.0071(c), we are offering an expedited CDCN approval process. The requirements, as specified in Senate Bill 15, are listed below:
48.0071(c) A school district or open-enrollment charter school that operated during the 2020-21 school year a full-time virtual program outside the state virtual network under Chapter 30A with at least 10% of the enrollment for the program including students who resided outside the geographic area served by the district or school may:
- 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 under Section 39.023.
(d) This section expires September 1, 2023.
In order to receive a CDCN that is effective in school year 2021-22, LEAs must:
- Submit a request for verification by 5:00 PM on October 13, 2021. All submissions will be reviewed and verified by October 15, 2021. Note that this verification request will require evidence that:
- Of your LEAs full-time virtual program enrollment last year, more than 10 percent of students enrolled resided outside of the geographic boundaries of your LEA's
- Your LEA's full-time virtual program advertised as open to students across the state of Texas
- If your LEA meets the criteria, you will be invited to complete the expedited CDCN process in Step 2 of the process.
- After receiving confirmation of approval from TEA in Step 1 of the process – Complete process to request a new CDCN within the AskTed system. TEA will provide further instructions to support LEAs in completing this step. LEAs may request for a CDCN for either a K-12 campus or a K-8 and 9th-12th Grade Campus. LEAs may not request more than two CDCNs for their local remote learning programs.
- After CDCN has been established in Step 2 of the process – Assign students to new CDCN, such that students will be counted toward October 29, 2021 enrollment snapshot.
Timeline for Requesting an Expedited CDCN for the 2021-22 SY
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| Week of Sept. 7, 2021 | Verification Process Opens |
| October 13, 2021 |
LEAs Submit Request for Verification via Smartsheet Form Rolling Basis: LEAs Notified of Approval or Denial |
| October 15, 2021 |
Final LEA Notification of Approval CDCN Application Opens |
| October 20,2021 |
CDCN Applications Processed Rolling Basis: Notification of approved CDCNs |
| October 25, 2021 | Last day that LEAs could be Notified of Remote Learning Campus CDCN |
| October 29, 2021 | Final Date for Full-Time Virtual Students to be Assigned to new CDCN |
Please note that all interested LEAs must meet all requirements detailed in SB 15 TAA and are listed below:
To be eligible for funding for local remote learning, LEAs must:
- Have an overall district-wide performance rating of C or higher in school year 2018-19, or the year the latest performance rating was given.
- Include at least one STAAR-assessed grade level among the grade levels for which local remote learning is offered or include a complete high school program, including each course for which an end-of-course assessment is required to be administered.
- Administer assessments to students enrolled in local remote learning in the same manner as students learning on campus. LEAs must also periodically assess students in the remote learning program to assess progress.
- Provide students enrolled in remote learning the ability to participate in any extracurricular activity sponsored or sanctioned by the LEA or by the University Interscholastic League in the same manner as other students, with the potential exception of students outside the LEA's geographic boundaries, who should have access to extracurricular activities in the same manner that they did in the LEA's school year 2020-21 program.
- Meet the needs of and comply with all relevant federal and state law and policy with respect to students with disabilities and English learners who are enrolled in a remote program.
- With respect to teachers delivering instruction, LEAs must:
- Provide professional development on virtual instruction to all teachers delivering instruction in a local remote learning program.
- Ensure that teachers delivering instruction in a full-time remote program have not been coerced in any way to take their full-time remote learning instruction position.
- Ensure teachers are not delivering instruction concurrently; concurrent instruction is instruction delivered to both on-campus and remote learners during the same class period, at the same time.
Critically, LEAs may only count a student toward ADA if that student meets eligibility requirements in the following areas:
Based on student information from the preceding school year, if a student received remote instruction for a majority of their instructional days in the previous school year (e.g., 88+ days in a 175-day instructional year), they also must have:
- Achieved satisfactory achievement or higher on each STAAR assessment administered.
- If a STAAR assessment was not administered but the student was in a grade/subject for which STAAR should have been administered, a different assessment can be administered that shows grade level proficiency in TEKS (e.g., the STAAR Beginning of Year (BOY) assessment).
- Had a number of unexcused absences that is 10 percent or fewer out of all instructional days.
- Earned a grade of C or higher in the foundation curriculum courses taken virtually or remotely in the preceding school year.
If a student did not receive a majority of the student’s instructional time in the preceding school year via remote instruction, then the criteria noted above do not apply to determine student eligibility for remote learning. However, criteria noted in the next section apply to all remote instruction students.
Based on student information from the current school year:
- The student is enrolled in a school district or open-enrollment charter school.
- The student has fewer than 10 unexcused absences while enrolled in local remote instruction over a six-month period.
For more information please contact Remote.Learning@tea.texas.gov.
Do you have a question specific to remote learning? You may enter your question here.
Visit COVID-19 Support: Academics for more resources regarding remote learning