January 7, 2011

TO THE ADMINISTRATOR ADDRESSED:

SUBJECT:  Texas Virtual School Network – Middle School Students

Senate Bill 1788 of the 80th Texas Legislature established a state virtual network to provide supplemental, online courses for Texas students. The Texas Virtual School Network (TxVSN) courses are provided by Texas school districts, open-enrollment charter schools, Education Service Centers, and institutions of higher education. All TxVSN courses pass a rigorous review to ensure alignment with the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) and the iNACOL National Standards of Quality for Online Courses. All high school courses are led by a Texas-certified instructor trained in best practices in delivering online instruction.

House Bill 3646 of the 81st Texas Legislature created a state virtual school allotment to fund courses provided through the TxVSN during the fall and spring semesters. When a student successfully completes an online course provided through the TxVSN, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) provides a payment of $400 per semester course to the district providing the course and $80 to the student’s district.  District participation in the TxVSN grows significantly each semester, so to ensure equitable access students may take no more than 2 TxVSN courses each semester.

Effective with the spring 2011 semester, the state virtual school allotment is available for eighth grade students to advance into high school courses offered through the TxVSN.  Students must have:

• A strong academic record and the need to advance into course work to meet the requirements of the Texas Recommended or Distinguished Achievement Graduation Plans.
• Demonstrated mastery of the middle school essential knowledge and skills prerequisite to the high school course to be taken (TAKS, credit by exam, or other local measure).
• Demonstrated readiness for the online environment and ready access to a computer and the internet. The TxVSN provides an online tool for participating districts to pre-assess student readiness for online learning.
• A mentor assigned by the district to provide local campus support and to serve as an exam proctor.

To learn more about how districts and open-enrollment charter schools participate in the TxVSN see www.txvsn.org or contact the TxVSN Help Desk at 1-866-938-9876 or by email at txvsncentral@txvsn.org.  Regularly scheduled webinars are available to provide information on “Receiving Courses from the TxVSN,” “Middle School Acceleration with the TxVSN,” and other topics.

Sincerely,

Anita Givens, Associate Commissioner
Standards and Programs