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February 9, 2010

TO THE ADMINISTRATOR ADDRESSED:

Subject:  Texas Virtual School Network (TxVSN) Summer Courses

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 high school courses are aligned with the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) as well as the iNACOL National Standards of Quality for Online Courses. All high school courses are led by a Texas-certified instructor and dual credit courses by a higher education instructor.

House Bill 3646 of the 81st Texas Legislature created a state virtual school allotment to fund courses provided through the TxVSN. 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.

Initially the state virtual school would support fall and spring TxVSN courses; however, the Commissioner is exercising the option to fund seats available for students in grades 9, 10, 11, or 12 during summer 2010. In order to take summer courses, students must have been enrolled in a Texas high school during the 2009-2010 school year and meet the eligibility requirements for continued enrollment in a Texas high school. In addition, all course prerequisites and/or eligibility for dual credit must be met as required for the fall and spring. Students may enroll in up to two TxVSN courses for summer 2010.

In order for students to participate in summer courses, districts and open enrollment charter schools must:

• Complete the TxVSN District and Open Enrollment Charter Agreement and steps as outlined at www.txvsn.org. If the 2009-2010 TxVSN agreement and steps have already been completed, it is not necessary to complete a new agreement until fall 2010.
• Throughout the summer, provide the on-going support necessary to maximize probability that the student will successfully complete the course, including, but not limited to:
• Ensuring that the district-designated TxVSN site coordinator has access to e-mail and other tools to receive grade reports and final grades, as well as to process enrollment changes such as drops or adds throughout the summer.
• Assigning staff to actively mentor and monitor all students to ensure progress is made in the course, that supplemental materials are available, and to communicate with the provider district’s online instructor at regular intervals. The district-designated site coordinator may fulfill this role or other personnel may be assigned to do so.
• Making sure that a district building and examination proctors are available during the summer to accommodate student examinations. Examinations may require access to a computer lab and the rights to upload or download files to computer workstations and must be proctored by a responsible adult not related to the student.
• While it is not required for the district to provide a computer or internet access for students other than when needed for proctored examinations, a district may do so as a service to its students. Prior to enrolling any student in a summer 2010 course offered through the TxVSN, a district must determine that each student has computer or internet access at home, school, or another location as needed to successfully complete the course.

Summer school enrollment opens Monday, March 8, 2010, beginning with districts with an ADA of 10,000 or fewer students, and continues each subsequent day based on district size. See the enrollment schedule at www.txvsn.org to determine the day your district should register students.

Beginning the week of February 8, 2010, the TxVSN Central Operations will offer “TxVSN and Planning for Summer School” webinars to assist districts with planning and to answer questions. All webinar dates and times are listed on www.txvsn.org under Upcoming Events. If you have questions, please contact the TxVSN Central Operations Help Desk at 866-938-9876 or by e-mail at txvsncentral@tsvn.org.

Sincerely,

Anita Givens
Associate Commissioner
Standards and Programs