BILL ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 2196 By: Bell, Keith Public Education Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE According to a Texas Tribune article published in 2021, many students who had at the time been attending school virtually due to school closures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic discovered that they were thriving in the remote learning environment, particularly students with physical, mental, or developmental disabilities that make in-person learning challenging. The bill author has informed the committee that it would be a great disservice to have the state's years of experience and progress in virtual learning through the State Virtual School Network go to waste, especially since the demand for virtual learning aligns with a parent's right to choose the best option for their child's learning environment. C.S.H.B. 2196 seeks to update the state's virtual learning model by repealing the current statutory provisions governing the network and replacing them with new and repurposed provisions relating to virtual and hybrid campuses, programs, and courses. The bill merges these provisions to create a new unified policy structure, aligned with the unanimous, bipartisan recommendations of the Commission on Virtual Education. CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the commissioner of education in SECTIONS 6, 7, 10, and 16 of this bill. ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 2196 repeals Education Code provisions relating to the state virtual school network. However, the bill amends the Education Code to set out provisions authorizing public school districts and open-enrollment charter schools to deliver instruction through hybrid and virtual courses and operate full-time virtual and full-time hybrid campuses and to make certain provisions currently applicable to the virtual school network applicable instead to virtual or hybrid courses offered under the bill's provisions. General Provisions Definitions C.S.H.B. 2196 defines the following terms: "full-time hybrid campus" as a district or charter school campus at which at least 50 percent of the enrolled students are enrolled in a full-time hybrid program authorized under the bill's provisions; "full-time hybrid program" as a full-time educational program offered by a district or charter school campus in which a student is in attendance in person for less than 90 percent of the minutes of instruction provided in a school year and the instruction and content may be delivered synchronously or asynchronously over the Internet, in person, or through other means; "full-time virtual campus" as a district or charter school campus at which at least 50 percent of the enrolled students are enrolled in a full-time virtual program authorized under the bill's provisions; "full-time virtual program" as a full-time educational program offered by a district or charter school campus in which a student is in attendance in person minimally or not at all and the instruction and content are delivered synchronously or asynchronously primarily over the Internet; "hybrid course" as a course in which a student is in attendance in person for less than 90 percent of the minutes of instruction provided and the instruction and content may be delivered synchronously or asynchronously over the Internet, in person, or through other means; "parent" as a student's parent or a person standing in parental relation to a student; "virtual course" as a course in which instruction and content are delivered synchronously or asynchronously primarily over the Internet; and "whole program virtual instruction provider" as a private or third-party service that provides oversight and management of the virtual instruction services or otherwise provides a preponderance of those services for a full-time virtual or full-time hybrid campus or program. Rules; Advisory Committee C.S.H.B. 2196 requires the commissioner of education to adopt rules as necessary to administer the bill's provisions relating to virtual and hybrid campuses, programs, and courses and, to the extent practicable, to consult districts, charter schools, and parents in adopting those rules. The bill authorizes the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to form an advisory committee to comply with these rulemaking requirements but exempts the advisory committee from Government Code provisions relating to state agency advisory committees. Grants and Federal Funds C.S.H.B. 2196 authorizes the commissioner, for purposes of the bill's provisions relating to virtual and hybrid campuses, programs, and courses, to seek and accept a grant from a public or private person and accept federal funds. The bill requires the commissioner to use the federal funds in compliance with applicable federal law, regulations, and guidelines. Provision of Equipment or Internet Access C.S.H.B. 2196 expressly does not require a district, charter school, virtual course provider, or the state to provide a student with home computer equipment or Internet access for a virtual course provided by the district or charter school, or prohibit a district or charter school from providing a student with home computer equipment or Internet access for a virtual course provided by the district or charter school. Extracurricular Activity C.S.H.B. 2196 authorizes a student enrolled in a virtual or hybrid course, program, or campus to participate in an extracurricular activity sponsored or sanctioned by the district or charter school in which the student is enrolled or by the University Interscholastic League in the same manner as other district or charter school students. Authorization for Delivering Virtual Instruction C.S.H.B. 2196 authorizes a district or charter school to deliver instruction through hybrid courses, virtual courses, full-time hybrid programs, and full-time virtual programs in the manner provided by the bill and authorizes the following entities to deliver instruction through hybrid or virtual courses in the same manner: a consortium of districts or charter schools; a public institution of higher education; or a regional education service center. The bill requires a district or charter school that delivers instruction through a hybrid or virtual course to develop written information describing each such course available for enrollment and complying with any requirements under the bill's provisions relating to parental rights concerning virtual and hybrid courses. The bill requires a district or charter school to make information regarding virtual and hybrid courses available to students and parents at the time students ordinarily select courses and authorizes a district or charter school to provide that information to students and parents at other times as determined by the district or charter school. Foundation School Program Funding C.S.H.B. 2196 requires the commissioner by rule to adopt procedures for reporting and verifying the attendance of a student enrolled in a hybrid course, virtual course, full-time hybrid program, or full-time virtual program provided by a district or charter school under the bill's provisions. The procedures must, as follows: provide a district or charter school with flexibility to provide instruction over the Internet, through synchronous or asynchronous delivery; and allow for the district or charter school to, without requiring in-person attendance or synchronous instruction at a specific time or location, receive the same amount of funding per student for such a course or program that the district or charter school would receive per student for that course or program if the course or program were provided fully in person. Hybrid and Virtual Courses Certification of Hybrid and Virtual Courses C.S.H.B. 2196 requires a district or charter school that offers a hybrid or virtual course under the bill's provisions to certify to the commissioner that the course: includes the appropriate state curriculum standards adopted by the State Board of Education; provides instruction at the appropriate level of rigor for the grade level at which the course is offered and will prepare a student enrolled in the course for the student's next grade level or a subsequent course in a similar subject matter; and meets standards for hybrid or virtual courses adopted by the commissioner. If the commissioner has not adopted applicable standards for hybrid or virtual courses, a district or charter school that offers such a course must instead certify to the commissioner that the course meets the National Standards for Quality Online Courses published by the Virtual Learning Leadership Alliance, Quality Matters, and the Community Advancing Digital Learning (DLAC), or a successor publication. Rights of Students and Teachers C.S.H.B. 2196 prohibits a district or charter school from requiring a student to enroll in a hybrid or virtual course. The bill requires a hybrid or virtual course offered under the bill's provisions to a student receiving special education services or other accommodations to meet the needs of the participating student in a manner consistent with state law governing the special education program and with federal law, including the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and Section 504 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as applicable. C.S.H.B. 2196 prohibits a district or charter school from requiring a classroom teacher to provide both virtual instruction and in-person instruction for a course offered under the bill's provisions during the same class period but authorizes the commissioner to waive this prohibition for courses included in the enrichment curriculum required under state law. This prohibition does not apply to a requirement that a classroom teacher simulcast the teacher's in-person instruction, provided that the teacher is not required to interact with students observing the instruction virtually. C.S.H.B. 2196 prohibits a classroom teacher from providing instruction for a hybrid or virtual course unless the teacher has received appropriate professional development in hybrid or virtual instruction, as determined by the district or charter school at which the teacher is employed, or the district or charter school has determined that the teacher has sufficient previous experience to not require the professional development. The bill prohibits a district or charter school from directly or indirectly coercing any classroom teacher hired to provide in-person instruction to agree to an assignment to teach a hybrid or virtual course. Administration of Tests; Tuition; Attendance C.S.H.B. 2196 requires the administration of statewide standardized tests and end-of-course tests to a student enrolled in a hybrid or virtual course to be administered to the student in the same manner in which the tests are administered to a student enrolled in an in-person course at the student's district or charter school, except as authorized by commissioner rule. C.S.H.B. 2196 authorizes a district or charter school to charge tuition and fees for a hybrid or virtual course provided to a student who is not eligible to enroll in a public school in Texas or is not enrolled in the district or charter school. The bill requires a district or charter school to establish the participation necessary to earn credit or a grade for a hybrid or virtual course. List of Courses C.S.H.B. 2196 requires TEA to publish a list of virtual courses offered by districts and charter schools in Texas that includes the following information, which is required to be provided by the districts and charter schools to TEA: whether the course is available to a student who is not otherwise enrolled in the offering district or charter school; the cost of the course; and information regarding any third-party provider involved in the delivery of the course. Provisions Currently Applicable to State Virtual School Network C.S.H.B. 2196 makes the following requirements relating to courses offered through the state virtual school network applicable instead to virtual or hybrid courses offered under the bill's provisions: the requirement that the commissioner adopt rules applicable to the Texas High Performance Schools Consortium according to the principle of engaging students in digital learning, including engagement through the use of courses offered through the network; and the requirement for TEA, for purposes of assisting the transition of students who are homeless or in substitute care from one school to another, to promote access to electronic courses provided through the network at nominal or no cost. C.S.H.B. 2196 makes the following provisions relating to electronic courses offered through the state virtual school network applicable instead to virtual or hybrid courses, as applicable, offered by the district or charter school in which the student is enrolled or by another district or charter school under the bill's provisions: the requirement for a district or charter school, at the time and in the manner the district or charter school informs students and parents about courses that are offered in the traditional classroom setting, to notify parents and students of the option to enroll in a course offered through the network; the prohibition against a district or charter school denying a parent's request for the enrollment of a student who is enrolled full-time in the district or charter school in a course offered through the network; the authorization for a district or charter school to decline to pay the cost for a student of more than three yearlong courses, or the equivalent, during any school year, including provisions that establish the authorization does not limit the student's ability to enroll in additional courses at the student's cost and that excepts students enrolled in a full-time program from the authorization; and the requirement for a district or charter school that provides a course through the network to make all reasonable efforts to accommodate the enrollment of a student in the course under special circumstances. Accordingly, the bill makes the authorization for a district or charter school to deny an enrollment request for electronic courses offered through the network under certain conditions applicable to a virtual or hybrid course offered under the bill's provisions but revises the conditions that trigger the authorization to deny a request as follows: by removing from the conditions that the district or charter school offers a substantially similar course; and by including as one of the conditions that the district or charter school determines that the cost of the course is too high. The bill prohibits a district or charter school from actively discouraging a student, including by threat or intimidation, from enrolling in a virtual or hybrid course. Under current law, a parent may appeal to the commissioner a district or charter school's decision to deny a request to enroll a student in an electronic course offered through the state virtual school network, and the commissioner's decision is final and cannot be appealed. C.S.H.B. 2196 instead does the following: requires a district or charter school that denies a request to enroll a student in a virtual or hybrid course to provide a written explanation of the denial to the student and the student's parent that must provide notice of the student's ability to appeal the decision and an explanation of the appeal process, including the process of pursuing a final appeal heard by the district's board of trustees or charter school's governing board; and changes the entity to whom a parent may appeal from the commissioner to the district's board of trustees or the charter school's governing board but retains the provision making the appeal determination final and establishing that it cannot be appealed. C.S.H.B. 2196 makes the requirement for a postsecondary education and career counseling academy, for purposes of providing postsecondary advisors with knowledge and skills to provide counseling to students, to include information relating to available methods for a student to earn credit for an electronic course provided through the network applicable instead to virtual courses provided under the bill's provisions. Full-Time Virtual Campuses and Full-Time Hybrid Campuses Authorization and Operation of Campus C.S.H.B. 2196 authorizes a district or charter school to operate a full-time hybrid campus or a full‑time virtual campus if authorized by the commissioner in accordance with the bill's provisions. The bill requires the commissioner to adopt rules establishing the requirements for and process by which a district or charter school may apply for authorization to operate a full-time hybrid campus or full-time virtual campus. The bill establishes that the rules may require certain written application materials and interviews but that the rules must require a district or charter school to do the following: engage in a year of planning before offering a course under the bill's provisions to verify the course is designed in accordance with high-quality criteria; develop an academic plan that incorporates the following: o curriculum and instructional practices aligned with the appropriate state curriculum standards; o monitoring the progress of student performance and interventions; o a method for meeting the needs of and complying with federal and state requirements for special populations and at-risk students; and o compliance with the bill's requirements; develop an operations plan that addresses the following: o staffing models; o the designation of selected school leaders; o professional development for staff; o student and family engagement; o school calendars and schedules; o student enrollment eligibility; o cybersecurity and student data privacy measures; and o any educational services to be provided by a private or third party; and demonstrate the capacity to execute the district's or charter school's plan successfully. C.S.H.B. 2196 requires a full-time hybrid campus or full-time hybrid virtual campus authorized under the bill's provisions to include the following: at least one grade level in which a statewide standardized test or end-of-course test is required to be administered, including each subject or course for which a test is required in that grade level; sufficient grade levels, as determined by the commissioner, to allow for the annual evaluation of the performance of students who complete the courses offered; or for a campus that does not include the previously described grade levels, another performance evaluation measure approved by the commissioner during the authorization process. Under the bill's provisions, a campus may only apply for and receive authorization to operate as a full-time hybrid campus or as a full-time virtual campus, and a campus may not change its operation designation during the authorization process or after the campus is authorized. The bill conditions the authority of the commissioner to authorize the operation of such a hybrid or virtual campus on the commissioner's determination that the authorization is likely to result in improved student learning opportunities. If a district or charter school will use a private or third party in operating a full-time hybrid campus or full-time virtual campus, the commissioner must consider the historical performance of the private or third party, if known, in making a determination for a campus operation authorization. C.S.H.B. 2196 establishes that the commissioner's determination relating to the authorization of a full-time hybrid or full-time virtual campus is final and not subject to appeal. Revocation of Authorization to Operate Campus C.S.H.B. 2196 establishes that the commissioner's authorization of a campus to operate a full-time hybrid campus or full-time virtual campus continues indefinitely unless the commissioner revokes the authorization. The bill requires the commissioner to revoke the authorization if the campus has been assigned, for the three preceding school years, the following: a needs improvement or unacceptable performance rating for accreditation purposes under state law relating to public school system accountability; a rating of performance that needs improvement or unacceptable, as determined by the commissioner, on a performance evaluation measure approved by the commissioner under the bill's provisions; or any combination of those ratings. The bill authorizes the commissioner, based on a special investigation authorized under state law relating to public school system accountability, to revoke an authorization or require any intervention authorized under that law. C.S.H.B. 2196 requires the commissioner, if a private or third party is determined to be ineligible, to revoke the authorization for operation, unless the commissioner approves a request by the district or charter school that operates the campus to use an alternative private or third party. An appeal of a revocation of an authorization that results in the closure of a campus must be made under statutory provisions relating to sanction review by the State Office of Administrative Hearings. Eligibility for Enrollment; Rights of Students C.S.H.B. 2196 establishes that a student eligible to enroll in a Texas public school is eligible to enroll at a full-time hybrid campus and that a student is eligible to enroll in a full-time virtual campus if the student meets any of the following conditions: attended a public school in Texas for a minimum of six weeks in the current school year or in the preceding school year; is, in the school year in which the student first seeks to enroll in the campus, enrolled in the first grade or a lower grade level; was not required to attend public school in Texas due to nonresidency during the preceding school year; is a dependent of a member of the U.S. military who has been deployed; or has been placed in substitute care in Texas. C.S.H.B. 2196 prohibits a student enrolled in a district from being compelled to enroll in a full-time hybrid or full-time virtual campus but authorizes a charter school to require a student to attend a full-time hybrid or full-time virtual campus. A district must offer the option for a student's parent to select in-person instruction for the student. Campus Designation C.S.H.B. 2196 requires the commissioner to determine and assign a unique campus designation number to each full-time hybrid campus or full-time virtual campus authorized under the bill's provisions. Remote and Hybrid Dropout Recovery Education Programs C.S.H.B. 2196 includes among the requirements for a remote or hybrid dropout recovery education program a requirement that such a program be a full-time hybrid program or a full-time virtual program, or a full-time hybrid or virtual campus authorized under the bill's provisions. C.S.H.B. 2196 repeals provisions relating to the authorization for a district or charter school that provides a course through distance learning and seeks to inform other districts or charter schools of the availability of the course to submit information to TEA regarding the course, including the number of positions available for student enrollment in the course. Funding C.S.H.B. 2196 requires the commissioner, for purposes of calculating the ADA of students attending a full-time hybrid campus or full-time virtual campus, to use the number of full-time equivalent students enrolled in the full-time hybrid or full-time virtual campus multiplied by the average attendance rate of the district or charter school that offers the full-time hybrid or full-time virtual campus not including any student enrolled full-time in a full-time hybrid or full-time virtual campus. In the event that a reliable attendance rate cannot be determined, the commissioner is required to use the statewide average attendance rate. The bill requires the commissioner to provide proportionate funding to the applicable district or charter school for a student that alternates attendance between a traditional, in-person campus setting and the full-time hybrid or full-time virtual campus of any single district or school in the same school year. C.S.H.B. 2196 revises the commissioner's computation of a district or charter school's ADA for funding purposes with respect to a student who successfully completes a course that is offered in-person or remotely through an alternative education program for students at risk of dropping out of school, as follows: changes the basis on which the commissioner is required to include the student in the computation from the student's successful completion of the course to the student's enrollment in the course; and removes the requirement that the commissioner include a student who successfully completes a remote course in the computation based on a separate, specified attendance rate. C.S.H.B. 2196 requires the commissioner to include a student enrolled in a remote or hybrid dropout recovery education program in the computation of the district's or charter school's ADA for funding purposes in the same manner as students enrolled in a full-time hybrid or virtual program or full-time hybrid or virtual campus, as applicable, under the bill's provisions. The bill authorizes the commissioner to adopt rules as necessary to implement provisions relating to compensatory, intensive, and accelerated instruction. Private and Third-Party Providers C.S.H.B. 2196 requires a district or charter school to provide notice to the commissioner of the use of or change in affiliation of a private or third party acting as a whole program virtual instruction provider for a full-time hybrid or full-time virtual campus or program. The bill prohibits a district or charter school from using a private or third party to act as a whole program virtual instruction provider if the party has been determined to be ineligible, except as otherwise provided by the bill. C.S.H.B. 2196 requires the commissioner, to the extent feasible, to evaluate the performance of a private or third party acting as a whole program virtual instruction provider for a district or charter school and to establish a standard to determine if a private or third party is ineligible to act as a whole program virtual instruction provider. A private or third party determined to be ineligible remains ineligible until after the fifth anniversary of that determination. The bill authorizes a district or charter school to use a private or third party determined to be ineligible as a whole program virtual instruction provider if the district or charter school requests approval from the commissioner and the commissioner determines that the reasons the private or third party was declared ineligible will not affect the operation of the party as a whole program virtual instruction provider at the district or charter school. State Support C.S.H.B. 2196 requires TEA, from funds appropriated or otherwise available, to do the following: develop professional development courses and materials aligned with research-based practices for educators in providing high-quality virtual education; and provide grants and technical assistance to districts and charter schools to aid in the establishment of high-quality full-time hybrid or full-time virtual campuses. Virtual Education as Alternative to Expulsion C.S.H.B. 2196 requires a district or charter school, before the district or charter school may expel a student, to consider the appropriateness and feasibility of, as an alternative to expulsion, enrolling the student in a full-time hybrid program, full-time virtual program, full-time hybrid campus, or full-time virtual campus. The bill excludes from this requirement a student expelled under statutory provisions relating to expulsion and placement of certain students in alternative settings or expulsion for certain serious offenses. Modification or Waiver of Requirements Relating to Average Daily Attendance C.S.H.B. 2196 requires the commissioner, in a school year in which the occurrence of an emergency or crisis, as defined by commissioner rule, causes a statewide decrease in ADA of districts entitled to foundation school program funding or, for an emergency or crisis occurring only within a specific region of Texas, causes a regional decrease in the ADA of districts located in the affected region, to modify or waive requirements applicable to the affected districts under statutory provisions relating to ADA and adopt appropriate safeguards as necessary to ensure the continued support and maintenance of an efficient system of public free schools and the continued delivery of high-quality instruction under that system. Revised Allotment for Special-Purpose School Districts C.S.H.B. 2196 revises the entitlement of a special-purpose school district that is operated by a general academic teaching institution to foundation school program funding for certain students by requiring the entitlement to be determined as if the district were a full-time hybrid campus or full-time virtual campus with no tier one local share for those students. Funding Currently Based on Students Receiving Instruction Through State Virtual School Network C.S.H.B. 2196 revises the authorization for a student receiving a full-time virtual education through the state virtual school network to be included in determining the number of students who are educationally disadvantaged and reside in an applicable economically disadvantaged census block group for purposes of the compensatory education allotment if the school district submits to the commissioner a plan detailing the enhanced services that will be provided to the student and the commissioner approves the plan as follows: changes the authorization to a requirement; makes the provision applicable instead to a student receiving a full-time virtual education provided through a full-time virtual campus under the bill's provisions who otherwise meets the criteria for being educationally disadvantaged and residing in an economically disadvantaged census block group; and removes the condition that the district submit and the commissioner approve the plan. C.S.H.B. 2196 makes the requirement for the commissioner, in determining the number of students enrolled in a district for purposes of a fast growth allotment, to exclude students enrolled in the district who receive full-time instruction provided through the state virtual school network applicable instead to students enrolled in the district who receive full-time instruction provided through a full-time virtual campus under the bill's provisions. The bill adds a temporary provision set to expire September 1, 2031, requiring the commissioner, for purposes of making that determination relating to the fast growth allotment, to exclude students enrolled in the district who receive full-time instruction through the state virtual school network in accordance with provisions relating to the network as those provisions existed on September 1, 2024. Distance Learning Courses C.S.H.B. 2196 repeals the provisions authorizing a school district or charter school that provides a course through distance learning and seeks to inform other districts or schools of the availability of the course to submit information to TEA regarding the course, authorizing the commissioner to adopt necessary rules, prohibiting the commissioner from adopting rules governing course pricing, and requiring the price for a course to be determined by the districts or charter schools involved. Transition Provisions and Procedural Provisions C.S.H.B. 2196 authorizes a district or charter school providing an electronic course or a full-time program through the state virtual school network in accordance with, or under a waiver of, statutory provisions relating to the network, as those provisions existed immediately before the bill's effective date, to continue to provide that course or program as if those provisions were still in effect until the end of the 2026-2027 school year. However, the bill requires the funding provided to a district or charter school for a student enrolled in an electronic course or full-time program offered through the state virtual school network in accordance with, or under a waiver of, those provisions, as they existed immediately before the bill's effective date, to be determined, as applicable, under the bill's provisions relating to foundation school funding for students enrolled in hybrid courses, virtual courses, full-time hybrid programs, or full-time virtual programs and funding for students enrolled at full-time hybrid campuses and full-time virtual campuses. C.S.H.B. 2196 requires the commissioner to adopt rules providing an expedited authorization process for a district or charter school that applies to operate a full-time hybrid campus or a full‑time virtual campus under the bill's provisions if the district or charter school, as of the bill's effective date, does either of the following: operates an electronic course or full-time program through the state virtual school network in accordance with statutory provisions relating to the network as those provisions existed immediately before the bill's effective date; or operates a virtual education program, regardless of whether the district or charter school received funding for students enrolled in the program during the 2022-2023, 2023-2024 or 2024‑2025 school year. C.S.H.B. 2196 applies beginning with the 2025-2026 school year. Repealed Provisions C.S.H.B. 2196 repeals the following provisions of the Education Code: Section 26.0031(f); Section 29.909; and Chapter 30A. EFFECTIVE DATE On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2025. COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE While C.S.H.B. 2196 may differ from the introduced in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill. Definitions Both the introduced and the substitute define "full-time hybrid program" using criteria for student attendance and method of delivery of instruction and content. Whereas the introduced specifies that the attendance criteria is attendance in person for less than 90 percent of the minutes of instruction provided, the substitute further specifies that this instruction is instruction provided in a school year. Foundation School Program Funding The substitute omits the provision present in the introduced that established that a student enrolled in a hybrid course, virtual course, full-time hybrid program, or full-time virtual program offered under the bill's provisions by a district or charter school is counted toward the district's or charter school's average daily attendance (ADA) in the same manner as students who are not enrolled in such a course or program at a district or charter school. The substitute instead sets out a provision requiring the commissioner by rule to adopt procedures for reporting and verifying the attendance of a student enrolled in such a course or program provided by the district or charter school, with specified requirements for those procedures. Transition Provisions and Procedural Provisions Both the introduced and the substitute provide for the continued provision, until the end of the 2026-2027 school year, of an electronic course or a full-time program by a district or charter school through the state virtual school network, as well as the determination of the associated funding provided to the district or school, in accordance with the statutes governing the network as those statutes existed immediately before the bill's effective date. However, the substitute provides for such continuation and the funding determination for a district or charter school providing such a course or program under a waiver of those statutes, whereas the introduced did not provide for such continuation and funding under such a waiver. Both the introduced and the substitute require the commissioner to adopt rules providing an expedited authorization process for a district or charter school that applies to operate a full-time hybrid campus or a full‑time virtual campus under the bill's provisions if the district or charter school, as of the bill's effective date, operates a virtual education program regardless of whether the district or school received funding for students enrolled in the program during the 2023-2024 or 2024-2025 school year. The substitute makes that requirement applicable to a district or school that received funding for students enrolled in the program during the 2022-2023 school year. Repealed Provisions The substitute also repeals the provisions authorizing a school district or charter school that provides a course through distance learning and seeks to inform other districts or schools of the availability of the course to submit information to TEA regarding the course, whereas the introduced did not repeal that provision
BILL ANALYSIS
# BILL ANALYSIS
C.S.H.B. 2196
By: Bell, Keith
Public Education
Committee Report (Substituted)
C.S.H.B. 2196
By: Bell, Keith
Public Education
Committee Report (Substituted)
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE According to a Texas Tribune article published in 2021, many students who had at the time been attending school virtually due to school closures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic discovered that they were thriving in the remote learning environment, particularly students with physical, mental, or developmental disabilities that make in-person learning challenging. The bill author has informed the committee that it would be a great disservice to have the state's years of experience and progress in virtual learning through the State Virtual School Network go to waste, especially since the demand for virtual learning aligns with a parent's right to choose the best option for their child's learning environment. C.S.H.B. 2196 seeks to update the state's virtual learning model by repealing the current statutory provisions governing the network and replacing them with new and repurposed provisions relating to virtual and hybrid campuses, programs, and courses. The bill merges these provisions to create a new unified policy structure, aligned with the unanimous, bipartisan recommendations of the Commission on Virtual Education.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the commissioner of education in SECTIONS 6, 7, 10, and 16 of this bill.
ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 2196 repeals Education Code provisions relating to the state virtual school network. However, the bill amends the Education Code to set out provisions authorizing public school districts and open-enrollment charter schools to deliver instruction through hybrid and virtual courses and operate full-time virtual and full-time hybrid campuses and to make certain provisions currently applicable to the virtual school network applicable instead to virtual or hybrid courses offered under the bill's provisions. General Provisions Definitions C.S.H.B. 2196 defines the following terms: "full-time hybrid campus" as a district or charter school campus at which at least 50 percent of the enrolled students are enrolled in a full-time hybrid program authorized under the bill's provisions; "full-time hybrid program" as a full-time educational program offered by a district or charter school campus in which a student is in attendance in person for less than 90 percent of the minutes of instruction provided in a school year and the instruction and content may be delivered synchronously or asynchronously over the Internet, in person, or through other means; "full-time virtual campus" as a district or charter school campus at which at least 50 percent of the enrolled students are enrolled in a full-time virtual program authorized under the bill's provisions; "full-time virtual program" as a full-time educational program offered by a district or charter school campus in which a student is in attendance in person minimally or not at all and the instruction and content are delivered synchronously or asynchronously primarily over the Internet; "hybrid course" as a course in which a student is in attendance in person for less than 90 percent of the minutes of instruction provided and the instruction and content may be delivered synchronously or asynchronously over the Internet, in person, or through other means; "parent" as a student's parent or a person standing in parental relation to a student; "virtual course" as a course in which instruction and content are delivered synchronously or asynchronously primarily over the Internet; and "whole program virtual instruction provider" as a private or third-party service that provides oversight and management of the virtual instruction services or otherwise provides a preponderance of those services for a full-time virtual or full-time hybrid campus or program. Rules; Advisory Committee C.S.H.B. 2196 requires the commissioner of education to adopt rules as necessary to administer the bill's provisions relating to virtual and hybrid campuses, programs, and courses and, to the extent practicable, to consult districts, charter schools, and parents in adopting those rules. The bill authorizes the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to form an advisory committee to comply with these rulemaking requirements but exempts the advisory committee from Government Code provisions relating to state agency advisory committees. Grants and Federal Funds C.S.H.B. 2196 authorizes the commissioner, for purposes of the bill's provisions relating to virtual and hybrid campuses, programs, and courses, to seek and accept a grant from a public or private person and accept federal funds. The bill requires the commissioner to use the federal funds in compliance with applicable federal law, regulations, and guidelines. Provision of Equipment or Internet Access C.S.H.B. 2196 expressly does not require a district, charter school, virtual course provider, or the state to provide a student with home computer equipment or Internet access for a virtual course provided by the district or charter school, or prohibit a district or charter school from providing a student with home computer equipment or Internet access for a virtual course provided by the district or charter school. Extracurricular Activity C.S.H.B. 2196 authorizes a student enrolled in a virtual or hybrid course, program, or campus to participate in an extracurricular activity sponsored or sanctioned by the district or charter school in which the student is enrolled or by the University Interscholastic League in the same manner as other district or charter school students. Authorization for Delivering Virtual Instruction C.S.H.B. 2196 authorizes a district or charter school to deliver instruction through hybrid courses, virtual courses, full-time hybrid programs, and full-time virtual programs in the manner provided by the bill and authorizes the following entities to deliver instruction through hybrid or virtual courses in the same manner: a consortium of districts or charter schools; a public institution of higher education; or a regional education service center. The bill requires a district or charter school that delivers instruction through a hybrid or virtual course to develop written information describing each such course available for enrollment and complying with any requirements under the bill's provisions relating to parental rights concerning virtual and hybrid courses. The bill requires a district or charter school to make information regarding virtual and hybrid courses available to students and parents at the time students ordinarily select courses and authorizes a district or charter school to provide that information to students and parents at other times as determined by the district or charter school. Foundation School Program Funding C.S.H.B. 2196 requires the commissioner by rule to adopt procedures for reporting and verifying the attendance of a student enrolled in a hybrid course, virtual course, full-time hybrid program, or full-time virtual program provided by a district or charter school under the bill's provisions. The procedures must, as follows: provide a district or charter school with flexibility to provide instruction over the Internet, through synchronous or asynchronous delivery; and allow for the district or charter school to, without requiring in-person attendance or synchronous instruction at a specific time or location, receive the same amount of funding per student for such a course or program that the district or charter school would receive per student for that course or program if the course or program were provided fully in person. Hybrid and Virtual Courses Certification of Hybrid and Virtual Courses C.S.H.B. 2196 requires a district or charter school that offers a hybrid or virtual course under the bill's provisions to certify to the commissioner that the course: includes the appropriate state curriculum standards adopted by the State Board of Education; provides instruction at the appropriate level of rigor for the grade level at which the course is offered and will prepare a student enrolled in the course for the student's next grade level or a subsequent course in a similar subject matter; and meets standards for hybrid or virtual courses adopted by the commissioner. If the commissioner has not adopted applicable standards for hybrid or virtual courses, a district or charter school that offers such a course must instead certify to the commissioner that the course meets the National Standards for Quality Online Courses published by the Virtual Learning Leadership Alliance, Quality Matters, and the Community Advancing Digital Learning (DLAC), or a successor publication. Rights of Students and Teachers C.S.H.B. 2196 prohibits a district or charter school from requiring a student to enroll in a hybrid or virtual course. The bill requires a hybrid or virtual course offered under the bill's provisions to a student receiving special education services or other accommodations to meet the needs of the participating student in a manner consistent with state law governing the special education program and with federal law, including the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and Section 504 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as applicable. C.S.H.B. 2196 prohibits a district or charter school from requiring a classroom teacher to provide both virtual instruction and in-person instruction for a course offered under the bill's provisions during the same class period but authorizes the commissioner to waive this prohibition for courses included in the enrichment curriculum required under state law. This prohibition does not apply to a requirement that a classroom teacher simulcast the teacher's in-person instruction, provided that the teacher is not required to interact with students observing the instruction virtually. C.S.H.B. 2196 prohibits a classroom teacher from providing instruction for a hybrid or virtual course unless the teacher has received appropriate professional development in hybrid or virtual instruction, as determined by the district or charter school at which the teacher is employed, or the district or charter school has determined that the teacher has sufficient previous experience to not require the professional development. The bill prohibits a district or charter school from directly or indirectly coercing any classroom teacher hired to provide in-person instruction to agree to an assignment to teach a hybrid or virtual course. Administration of Tests; Tuition; Attendance C.S.H.B. 2196 requires the administration of statewide standardized tests and end-of-course tests to a student enrolled in a hybrid or virtual course to be administered to the student in the same manner in which the tests are administered to a student enrolled in an in-person course at the student's district or charter school, except as authorized by commissioner rule. C.S.H.B. 2196 authorizes a district or charter school to charge tuition and fees for a hybrid or virtual course provided to a student who is not eligible to enroll in a public school in Texas or is not enrolled in the district or charter school. The bill requires a district or charter school to establish the participation necessary to earn credit or a grade for a hybrid or virtual course. List of Courses C.S.H.B. 2196 requires TEA to publish a list of virtual courses offered by districts and charter schools in Texas that includes the following information, which is required to be provided by the districts and charter schools to TEA: whether the course is available to a student who is not otherwise enrolled in the offering district or charter school; the cost of the course; and information regarding any third-party provider involved in the delivery of the course. Provisions Currently Applicable to State Virtual School Network C.S.H.B. 2196 makes the following requirements relating to courses offered through the state virtual school network applicable instead to virtual or hybrid courses offered under the bill's provisions: the requirement that the commissioner adopt rules applicable to the Texas High Performance Schools Consortium according to the principle of engaging students in digital learning, including engagement through the use of courses offered through the network; and the requirement for TEA, for purposes of assisting the transition of students who are homeless or in substitute care from one school to another, to promote access to electronic courses provided through the network at nominal or no cost. C.S.H.B. 2196 makes the following provisions relating to electronic courses offered through the state virtual school network applicable instead to virtual or hybrid courses, as applicable, offered by the district or charter school in which the student is enrolled or by another district or charter school under the bill's provisions: the requirement for a district or charter school, at the time and in the manner the district or charter school informs students and parents about courses that are offered in the traditional classroom setting, to notify parents and students of the option to enroll in a course offered through the network; the prohibition against a district or charter school denying a parent's request for the enrollment of a student who is enrolled full-time in the district or charter school in a course offered through the network; the authorization for a district or charter school to decline to pay the cost for a student of more than three yearlong courses, or the equivalent, during any school year, including provisions that establish the authorization does not limit the student's ability to enroll in additional courses at the student's cost and that excepts students enrolled in a full-time program from the authorization; and the requirement for a district or charter school that provides a course through the network to make all reasonable efforts to accommodate the enrollment of a student in the course under special circumstances. Accordingly, the bill makes the authorization for a district or charter school to deny an enrollment request for electronic courses offered through the network under certain conditions applicable to a virtual or hybrid course offered under the bill's provisions but revises the conditions that trigger the authorization to deny a request as follows: by removing from the conditions that the district or charter school offers a substantially similar course; and by including as one of the conditions that the district or charter school determines that the cost of the course is too high. The bill prohibits a district or charter school from actively discouraging a student, including by threat or intimidation, from enrolling in a virtual or hybrid course. Under current law, a parent may appeal to the commissioner a district or charter school's decision to deny a request to enroll a student in an electronic course offered through the state virtual school network, and the commissioner's decision is final and cannot be appealed. C.S.H.B. 2196 instead does the following: requires a district or charter school that denies a request to enroll a student in a virtual or hybrid course to provide a written explanation of the denial to the student and the student's parent that must provide notice of the student's ability to appeal the decision and an explanation of the appeal process, including the process of pursuing a final appeal heard by the district's board of trustees or charter school's governing board; and changes the entity to whom a parent may appeal from the commissioner to the district's board of trustees or the charter school's governing board but retains the provision making the appeal determination final and establishing that it cannot be appealed. C.S.H.B. 2196 makes the requirement for a postsecondary education and career counseling academy, for purposes of providing postsecondary advisors with knowledge and skills to provide counseling to students, to include information relating to available methods for a student to earn credit for an electronic course provided through the network applicable instead to virtual courses provided under the bill's provisions. Full-Time Virtual Campuses and Full-Time Hybrid Campuses Authorization and Operation of Campus C.S.H.B. 2196 authorizes a district or charter school to operate a full-time hybrid campus or a full‑time virtual campus if authorized by the commissioner in accordance with the bill's provisions. The bill requires the commissioner to adopt rules establishing the requirements for and process by which a district or charter school may apply for authorization to operate a full-time hybrid campus or full-time virtual campus. The bill establishes that the rules may require certain written application materials and interviews but that the rules must require a district or charter school to do the following: engage in a year of planning before offering a course under the bill's provisions to verify the course is designed in accordance with high-quality criteria; develop an academic plan that incorporates the following: o curriculum and instructional practices aligned with the appropriate state curriculum standards; o monitoring the progress of student performance and interventions; o a method for meeting the needs of and complying with federal and state requirements for special populations and at-risk students; and o compliance with the bill's requirements; develop an operations plan that addresses the following: o staffing models; o the designation of selected school leaders; o professional development for staff; o student and family engagement; o school calendars and schedules; o student enrollment eligibility; o cybersecurity and student data privacy measures; and o any educational services to be provided by a private or third party; and demonstrate the capacity to execute the district's or charter school's plan successfully. C.S.H.B. 2196 requires a full-time hybrid campus or full-time hybrid virtual campus authorized under the bill's provisions to include the following: at least one grade level in which a statewide standardized test or end-of-course test is required to be administered, including each subject or course for which a test is required in that grade level; sufficient grade levels, as determined by the commissioner, to allow for the annual evaluation of the performance of students who complete the courses offered; or for a campus that does not include the previously described grade levels, another performance evaluation measure approved by the commissioner during the authorization process. Under the bill's provisions, a campus may only apply for and receive authorization to operate as a full-time hybrid campus or as a full-time virtual campus, and a campus may not change its operation designation during the authorization process or after the campus is authorized. The bill conditions the authority of the commissioner to authorize the operation of such a hybrid or virtual campus on the commissioner's determination that the authorization is likely to result in improved student learning opportunities. If a district or charter school will use a private or third party in operating a full-time hybrid campus or full-time virtual campus, the commissioner must consider the historical performance of the private or third party, if known, in making a determination for a campus operation authorization. C.S.H.B. 2196 establishes that the commissioner's determination relating to the authorization of a full-time hybrid or full-time virtual campus is final and not subject to appeal. Revocation of Authorization to Operate Campus C.S.H.B. 2196 establishes that the commissioner's authorization of a campus to operate a full-time hybrid campus or full-time virtual campus continues indefinitely unless the commissioner revokes the authorization. The bill requires the commissioner to revoke the authorization if the campus has been assigned, for the three preceding school years, the following: a needs improvement or unacceptable performance rating for accreditation purposes under state law relating to public school system accountability; a rating of performance that needs improvement or unacceptable, as determined by the commissioner, on a performance evaluation measure approved by the commissioner under the bill's provisions; or any combination of those ratings. The bill authorizes the commissioner, based on a special investigation authorized under state law relating to public school system accountability, to revoke an authorization or require any intervention authorized under that law. C.S.H.B. 2196 requires the commissioner, if a private or third party is determined to be ineligible, to revoke the authorization for operation, unless the commissioner approves a request by the district or charter school that operates the campus to use an alternative private or third party. An appeal of a revocation of an authorization that results in the closure of a campus must be made under statutory provisions relating to sanction review by the State Office of Administrative Hearings. Eligibility for Enrollment; Rights of Students C.S.H.B. 2196 establishes that a student eligible to enroll in a Texas public school is eligible to enroll at a full-time hybrid campus and that a student is eligible to enroll in a full-time virtual campus if the student meets any of the following conditions: attended a public school in Texas for a minimum of six weeks in the current school year or in the preceding school year; is, in the school year in which the student first seeks to enroll in the campus, enrolled in the first grade or a lower grade level; was not required to attend public school in Texas due to nonresidency during the preceding school year; is a dependent of a member of the U.S. military who has been deployed; or has been placed in substitute care in Texas. C.S.H.B. 2196 prohibits a student enrolled in a district from being compelled to enroll in a full-time hybrid or full-time virtual campus but authorizes a charter school to require a student to attend a full-time hybrid or full-time virtual campus. A district must offer the option for a student's parent to select in-person instruction for the student. Campus Designation C.S.H.B. 2196 requires the commissioner to determine and assign a unique campus designation number to each full-time hybrid campus or full-time virtual campus authorized under the bill's provisions. Remote and Hybrid Dropout Recovery Education Programs C.S.H.B. 2196 includes among the requirements for a remote or hybrid dropout recovery education program a requirement that such a program be a full-time hybrid program or a full-time virtual program, or a full-time hybrid or virtual campus authorized under the bill's provisions. C.S.H.B. 2196 repeals provisions relating to the authorization for a district or charter school that provides a course through distance learning and seeks to inform other districts or charter schools of the availability of the course to submit information to TEA regarding the course, including the number of positions available for student enrollment in the course. Funding C.S.H.B. 2196 requires the commissioner, for purposes of calculating the ADA of students attending a full-time hybrid campus or full-time virtual campus, to use the number of full-time equivalent students enrolled in the full-time hybrid or full-time virtual campus multiplied by the average attendance rate of the district or charter school that offers the full-time hybrid or full-time virtual campus not including any student enrolled full-time in a full-time hybrid or full-time virtual campus. In the event that a reliable attendance rate cannot be determined, the commissioner is required to use the statewide average attendance rate. The bill requires the commissioner to provide proportionate funding to the applicable district or charter school for a student that alternates attendance between a traditional, in-person campus setting and the full-time hybrid or full-time virtual campus of any single district or school in the same school year. C.S.H.B. 2196 revises the commissioner's computation of a district or charter school's ADA for funding purposes with respect to a student who successfully completes a course that is offered in-person or remotely through an alternative education program for students at risk of dropping out of school, as follows: changes the basis on which the commissioner is required to include the student in the computation from the student's successful completion of the course to the student's enrollment in the course; and removes the requirement that the commissioner include a student who successfully completes a remote course in the computation based on a separate, specified attendance rate. C.S.H.B. 2196 requires the commissioner to include a student enrolled in a remote or hybrid dropout recovery education program in the computation of the district's or charter school's ADA for funding purposes in the same manner as students enrolled in a full-time hybrid or virtual program or full-time hybrid or virtual campus, as applicable, under the bill's provisions. The bill authorizes the commissioner to adopt rules as necessary to implement provisions relating to compensatory, intensive, and accelerated instruction. Private and Third-Party Providers C.S.H.B. 2196 requires a district or charter school to provide notice to the commissioner of the use of or change in affiliation of a private or third party acting as a whole program virtual instruction provider for a full-time hybrid or full-time virtual campus or program. The bill prohibits a district or charter school from using a private or third party to act as a whole program virtual instruction provider if the party has been determined to be ineligible, except as otherwise provided by the bill. C.S.H.B. 2196 requires the commissioner, to the extent feasible, to evaluate the performance of a private or third party acting as a whole program virtual instruction provider for a district or charter school and to establish a standard to determine if a private or third party is ineligible to act as a whole program virtual instruction provider. A private or third party determined to be ineligible remains ineligible until after the fifth anniversary of that determination. The bill authorizes a district or charter school to use a private or third party determined to be ineligible as a whole program virtual instruction provider if the district or charter school requests approval from the commissioner and the commissioner determines that the reasons the private or third party was declared ineligible will not affect the operation of the party as a whole program virtual instruction provider at the district or charter school. State Support C.S.H.B. 2196 requires TEA, from funds appropriated or otherwise available, to do the following: develop professional development courses and materials aligned with research-based practices for educators in providing high-quality virtual education; and provide grants and technical assistance to districts and charter schools to aid in the establishment of high-quality full-time hybrid or full-time virtual campuses. Virtual Education as Alternative to Expulsion C.S.H.B. 2196 requires a district or charter school, before the district or charter school may expel a student, to consider the appropriateness and feasibility of, as an alternative to expulsion, enrolling the student in a full-time hybrid program, full-time virtual program, full-time hybrid campus, or full-time virtual campus. The bill excludes from this requirement a student expelled under statutory provisions relating to expulsion and placement of certain students in alternative settings or expulsion for certain serious offenses. Modification or Waiver of Requirements Relating to Average Daily Attendance C.S.H.B. 2196 requires the commissioner, in a school year in which the occurrence of an emergency or crisis, as defined by commissioner rule, causes a statewide decrease in ADA of districts entitled to foundation school program funding or, for an emergency or crisis occurring only within a specific region of Texas, causes a regional decrease in the ADA of districts located in the affected region, to modify or waive requirements applicable to the affected districts under statutory provisions relating to ADA and adopt appropriate safeguards as necessary to ensure the continued support and maintenance of an efficient system of public free schools and the continued delivery of high-quality instruction under that system. Revised Allotment for Special-Purpose School Districts C.S.H.B. 2196 revises the entitlement of a special-purpose school district that is operated by a general academic teaching institution to foundation school program funding for certain students by requiring the entitlement to be determined as if the district were a full-time hybrid campus or full-time virtual campus with no tier one local share for those students. Funding Currently Based on Students Receiving Instruction Through State Virtual School Network C.S.H.B. 2196 revises the authorization for a student receiving a full-time virtual education through the state virtual school network to be included in determining the number of students who are educationally disadvantaged and reside in an applicable economically disadvantaged census block group for purposes of the compensatory education allotment if the school district submits to the commissioner a plan detailing the enhanced services that will be provided to the student and the commissioner approves the plan as follows: changes the authorization to a requirement; makes the provision applicable instead to a student receiving a full-time virtual education provided through a full-time virtual campus under the bill's provisions who otherwise meets the criteria for being educationally disadvantaged and residing in an economically disadvantaged census block group; and removes the condition that the district submit and the commissioner approve the plan. C.S.H.B. 2196 makes the requirement for the commissioner, in determining the number of students enrolled in a district for purposes of a fast growth allotment, to exclude students enrolled in the district who receive full-time instruction provided through the state virtual school network applicable instead to students enrolled in the district who receive full-time instruction provided through a full-time virtual campus under the bill's provisions. The bill adds a temporary provision set to expire September 1, 2031, requiring the commissioner, for purposes of making that determination relating to the fast growth allotment, to exclude students enrolled in the district who receive full-time instruction through the state virtual school network in accordance with provisions relating to the network as those provisions existed on September 1, 2024. Distance Learning Courses C.S.H.B. 2196 repeals the provisions authorizing a school district or charter school that provides a course through distance learning and seeks to inform other districts or schools of the availability of the course to submit information to TEA regarding the course, authorizing the commissioner to adopt necessary rules, prohibiting the commissioner from adopting rules governing course pricing, and requiring the price for a course to be determined by the districts or charter schools involved. Transition Provisions and Procedural Provisions C.S.H.B. 2196 authorizes a district or charter school providing an electronic course or a full-time program through the state virtual school network in accordance with, or under a waiver of, statutory provisions relating to the network, as those provisions existed immediately before the bill's effective date, to continue to provide that course or program as if those provisions were still in effect until the end of the 2026-2027 school year. However, the bill requires the funding provided to a district or charter school for a student enrolled in an electronic course or full-time program offered through the state virtual school network in accordance with, or under a waiver of, those provisions, as they existed immediately before the bill's effective date, to be determined, as applicable, under the bill's provisions relating to foundation school funding for students enrolled in hybrid courses, virtual courses, full-time hybrid programs, or full-time virtual programs and funding for students enrolled at full-time hybrid campuses and full-time virtual campuses. C.S.H.B. 2196 requires the commissioner to adopt rules providing an expedited authorization process for a district or charter school that applies to operate a full-time hybrid campus or a full‑time virtual campus under the bill's provisions if the district or charter school, as of the bill's effective date, does either of the following: operates an electronic course or full-time program through the state virtual school network in accordance with statutory provisions relating to the network as those provisions existed immediately before the bill's effective date; or operates a virtual education program, regardless of whether the district or charter school received funding for students enrolled in the program during the 2022-2023, 2023-2024 or 2024‑2025 school year. C.S.H.B. 2196 applies beginning with the 2025-2026 school year. Repealed Provisions C.S.H.B. 2196 repeals the following provisions of the Education Code: Section 26.0031(f); Section 29.909; and Chapter 30A.
EFFECTIVE DATE On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2025.
COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE While C.S.H.B. 2196 may differ from the introduced in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill. Definitions Both the introduced and the substitute define "full-time hybrid program" using criteria for student attendance and method of delivery of instruction and content. Whereas the introduced specifies that the attendance criteria is attendance in person for less than 90 percent of the minutes of instruction provided, the substitute further specifies that this instruction is instruction provided in a school year. Foundation School Program Funding The substitute omits the provision present in the introduced that established that a student enrolled in a hybrid course, virtual course, full-time hybrid program, or full-time virtual program offered under the bill's provisions by a district or charter school is counted toward the district's or charter school's average daily attendance (ADA) in the same manner as students who are not enrolled in such a course or program at a district or charter school. The substitute instead sets out a provision requiring the commissioner by rule to adopt procedures for reporting and verifying the attendance of a student enrolled in such a course or program provided by the district or charter school, with specified requirements for those procedures. Transition Provisions and Procedural Provisions Both the introduced and the substitute provide for the continued provision, until the end of the 2026-2027 school year, of an electronic course or a full-time program by a district or charter school through the state virtual school network, as well as the determination of the associated funding provided to the district or school, in accordance with the statutes governing the network as those statutes existed immediately before the bill's effective date. However, the substitute provides for such continuation and the funding determination for a district or charter school providing such a course or program under a waiver of those statutes, whereas the introduced did not provide for such continuation and funding under such a waiver. Both the introduced and the substitute require the commissioner to adopt rules providing an expedited authorization process for a district or charter school that applies to operate a full-time hybrid campus or a full‑time virtual campus under the bill's provisions if the district or charter school, as of the bill's effective date, operates a virtual education program regardless of whether the district or school received funding for students enrolled in the program during the 2023-2024 or 2024-2025 school year. The substitute makes that requirement applicable to a district or school that received funding for students enrolled in the program during the 2022-2023 school year. Repealed Provisions The substitute also repeals the provisions authorizing a school district or charter school that provides a course through distance learning and seeks to inform other districts or schools of the availability of the course to submit information to TEA regarding the course, whereas the introduced did not repeal that provision
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
According to a Texas Tribune article published in 2021, many students who had at the time been attending school virtually due to school closures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic discovered that they were thriving in the remote learning environment, particularly students with physical, mental, or developmental disabilities that make in-person learning challenging. The bill author has informed the committee that it would be a great disservice to have the state's years of experience and progress in virtual learning through the State Virtual School Network go to waste, especially since the demand for virtual learning aligns with a parent's right to choose the best option for their child's learning environment. C.S.H.B. 2196 seeks to update the state's virtual learning model by repealing the current statutory provisions governing the network and replacing them with new and repurposed provisions relating to virtual and hybrid campuses, programs, and courses. The bill merges these provisions to create a new unified policy structure, aligned with the unanimous, bipartisan recommendations of the Commission on Virtual Education.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the commissioner of education in SECTIONS 6, 7, 10, and 16 of this bill.
ANALYSIS
C.S.H.B. 2196 repeals Education Code provisions relating to the state virtual school network. However, the bill amends the Education Code to set out provisions authorizing public school districts and open-enrollment charter schools to deliver instruction through hybrid and virtual courses and operate full-time virtual and full-time hybrid campuses and to make certain provisions currently applicable to the virtual school network applicable instead to virtual or hybrid courses offered under the bill's provisions.
General Provisions
Definitions
C.S.H.B. 2196 defines the following terms:
"full-time hybrid campus" as a district or charter school campus at which at least 50 percent of the enrolled students are enrolled in a full-time hybrid program authorized under the bill's provisions;
"full-time hybrid program" as a full-time educational program offered by a district or charter school campus in which a student is in attendance in person for less than 90 percent of the minutes of instruction provided in a school year and the instruction and content may be delivered synchronously or asynchronously over the Internet, in person, or through other means;
"full-time virtual campus" as a district or charter school campus at which at least 50 percent of the enrolled students are enrolled in a full-time virtual program authorized under the bill's provisions;
"full-time virtual program" as a full-time educational program offered by a district or charter school campus in which a student is in attendance in person minimally or not at all and the instruction and content are delivered synchronously or asynchronously primarily over the Internet;
"hybrid course" as a course in which a student is in attendance in person for less than 90 percent of the minutes of instruction provided and the instruction and content may be delivered synchronously or asynchronously over the Internet, in person, or through other means;
"parent" as a student's parent or a person standing in parental relation to a student;
"virtual course" as a course in which instruction and content are delivered synchronously or asynchronously primarily over the Internet; and
"whole program virtual instruction provider" as a private or third-party service that provides oversight and management of the virtual instruction services or otherwise provides a preponderance of those services for a full-time virtual or full-time hybrid campus or program.
Rules; Advisory Committee
C.S.H.B. 2196 requires the commissioner of education to adopt rules as necessary to administer the bill's provisions relating to virtual and hybrid campuses, programs, and courses and, to the extent practicable, to consult districts, charter schools, and parents in adopting those rules. The bill authorizes the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to form an advisory committee to comply with these rulemaking requirements but exempts the advisory committee from Government Code provisions relating to state agency advisory committees.
Grants and Federal Funds
C.S.H.B. 2196 authorizes the commissioner, for purposes of the bill's provisions relating to virtual and hybrid campuses, programs, and courses, to seek and accept a grant from a public or private person and accept federal funds. The bill requires the commissioner to use the federal funds in compliance with applicable federal law, regulations, and guidelines.
Provision of Equipment or Internet Access
C.S.H.B. 2196 expressly does not require a district, charter school, virtual course provider, or the state to provide a student with home computer equipment or Internet access for a virtual course provided by the district or charter school, or prohibit a district or charter school from providing a student with home computer equipment or Internet access for a virtual course provided by the district or charter school.
Extracurricular Activity
C.S.H.B. 2196 authorizes a student enrolled in a virtual or hybrid course, program, or campus to participate in an extracurricular activity sponsored or sanctioned by the district or charter school in which the student is enrolled or by the University Interscholastic League in the same manner as other district or charter school students.
Authorization for Delivering Virtual Instruction
C.S.H.B. 2196 authorizes a district or charter school to deliver instruction through hybrid courses, virtual courses, full-time hybrid programs, and full-time virtual programs in the manner provided by the bill and authorizes the following entities to deliver instruction through hybrid or virtual courses in the same manner:
a consortium of districts or charter schools;
a public institution of higher education; or
a regional education service center.
The bill requires a district or charter school that delivers instruction through a hybrid or virtual course to develop written information describing each such course available for enrollment and complying with any requirements under the bill's provisions relating to parental rights concerning virtual and hybrid courses. The bill requires a district or charter school to make information regarding virtual and hybrid courses available to students and parents at the time students ordinarily select courses and authorizes a district or charter school to provide that information to students and parents at other times as determined by the district or charter school.
Foundation School Program Funding
C.S.H.B. 2196 requires the commissioner by rule to adopt procedures for reporting and verifying the attendance of a student enrolled in a hybrid course, virtual course, full-time hybrid program, or full-time virtual program provided by a district or charter school under the bill's provisions. The procedures must, as follows:
provide a district or charter school with flexibility to provide instruction over the Internet, through synchronous or asynchronous delivery; and
allow for the district or charter school to, without requiring in-person attendance or synchronous instruction at a specific time or location, receive the same amount of funding per student for such a course or program that the district or charter school would receive per student for that course or program if the course or program were provided fully in person.
Hybrid and Virtual Courses
Certification of Hybrid and Virtual Courses
C.S.H.B. 2196 requires a district or charter school that offers a hybrid or virtual course under the bill's provisions to certify to the commissioner that the course:
includes the appropriate state curriculum standards adopted by the State Board of Education;
provides instruction at the appropriate level of rigor for the grade level at which the course is offered and will prepare a student enrolled in the course for the student's next grade level or a subsequent course in a similar subject matter; and
meets standards for hybrid or virtual courses adopted by the commissioner.
If the commissioner has not adopted applicable standards for hybrid or virtual courses, a district or charter school that offers such a course must instead certify to the commissioner that the course meets the National Standards for Quality Online Courses published by the Virtual Learning Leadership Alliance, Quality Matters, and the Community Advancing Digital Learning (DLAC), or a successor publication.
Rights of Students and Teachers
C.S.H.B. 2196 prohibits a district or charter school from requiring a student to enroll in a hybrid or virtual course. The bill requires a hybrid or virtual course offered under the bill's provisions to a student receiving special education services or other accommodations to meet the needs of the participating student in a manner consistent with state law governing the special education program and with federal law, including the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and Section 504 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as applicable.
C.S.H.B. 2196 prohibits a district or charter school from requiring a classroom teacher to provide both virtual instruction and in-person instruction for a course offered under the bill's provisions during the same class period but authorizes the commissioner to waive this prohibition for courses included in the enrichment curriculum required under state law. This prohibition does not apply to a requirement that a classroom teacher simulcast the teacher's in-person instruction, provided that the teacher is not required to interact with students observing the instruction virtually.
C.S.H.B. 2196 prohibits a classroom teacher from providing instruction for a hybrid or virtual course unless the teacher has received appropriate professional development in hybrid or virtual instruction, as determined by the district or charter school at which the teacher is employed, or the district or charter school has determined that the teacher has sufficient previous experience to not require the professional development. The bill prohibits a district or charter school from directly or indirectly coercing any classroom teacher hired to provide in-person instruction to agree to an assignment to teach a hybrid or virtual course.
Administration of Tests; Tuition; Attendance
C.S.H.B. 2196 requires the administration of statewide standardized tests and end-of-course tests to a student enrolled in a hybrid or virtual course to be administered to the student in the same manner in which the tests are administered to a student enrolled in an in-person course at the student's district or charter school, except as authorized by commissioner rule.
C.S.H.B. 2196 authorizes a district or charter school to charge tuition and fees for a hybrid or virtual course provided to a student who is not eligible to enroll in a public school in Texas or is not enrolled in the district or charter school. The bill requires a district or charter school to establish the participation necessary to earn credit or a grade for a hybrid or virtual course.
List of Courses
C.S.H.B. 2196 requires TEA to publish a list of virtual courses offered by districts and charter schools in Texas that includes the following information, which is required to be provided by the districts and charter schools to TEA:
whether the course is available to a student who is not otherwise enrolled in the offering district or charter school;
the cost of the course; and
information regarding any third-party provider involved in the delivery of the course.
Provisions Currently Applicable to State Virtual School Network
C.S.H.B. 2196 makes the following requirements relating to courses offered through the state virtual school network applicable instead to virtual or hybrid courses offered under the bill's provisions:
the requirement that the commissioner adopt rules applicable to the Texas High Performance Schools Consortium according to the principle of engaging students in digital learning, including engagement through the use of courses offered through the network; and
the requirement for TEA, for purposes of assisting the transition of students who are homeless or in substitute care from one school to another, to promote access to electronic courses provided through the network at nominal or no cost.
C.S.H.B. 2196 makes the following provisions relating to electronic courses offered through the state virtual school network applicable instead to virtual or hybrid courses, as applicable, offered by the district or charter school in which the student is enrolled or by another district or charter school under the bill's provisions:
the requirement for a district or charter school, at the time and in the manner the district or charter school informs students and parents about courses that are offered in the traditional classroom setting, to notify parents and students of the option to enroll in a course offered through the network;
the prohibition against a district or charter school denying a parent's request for the enrollment of a student who is enrolled full-time in the district or charter school in a course offered through the network;
the authorization for a district or charter school to decline to pay the cost for a student of more than three yearlong courses, or the equivalent, during any school year, including provisions that establish the authorization does not limit the student's ability to enroll in additional courses at the student's cost and that excepts students enrolled in a full-time program from the authorization; and
the requirement for a district or charter school that provides a course through the network to make all reasonable efforts to accommodate the enrollment of a student in the course under special circumstances.
Accordingly, the bill makes the authorization for a district or charter school to deny an enrollment request for electronic courses offered through the network under certain conditions applicable to a virtual or hybrid course offered under the bill's provisions but revises the conditions that trigger the authorization to deny a request as follows:
by removing from the conditions that the district or charter school offers a substantially similar course; and
by including as one of the conditions that the district or charter school determines that the cost of the course is too high.
The bill prohibits a district or charter school from actively discouraging a student, including by threat or intimidation, from enrolling in a virtual or hybrid course.
Under current law, a parent may appeal to the commissioner a district or charter school's decision to deny a request to enroll a student in an electronic course offered through the state virtual school network, and the commissioner's decision is final and cannot be appealed. C.S.H.B. 2196 instead does the following:
requires a district or charter school that denies a request to enroll a student in a virtual or hybrid course to provide a written explanation of the denial to the student and the student's parent that must provide notice of the student's ability to appeal the decision and an explanation of the appeal process, including the process of pursuing a final appeal heard by the district's board of trustees or charter school's governing board; and
changes the entity to whom a parent may appeal from the commissioner to the district's board of trustees or the charter school's governing board but retains the provision making the appeal determination final and establishing that it cannot be appealed.
C.S.H.B. 2196 makes the requirement for a postsecondary education and career counseling academy, for purposes of providing postsecondary advisors with knowledge and skills to provide counseling to students, to include information relating to available methods for a student to earn credit for an electronic course provided through the network applicable instead to virtual courses provided under the bill's provisions.
Full-Time Virtual Campuses and Full-Time Hybrid Campuses
Authorization and Operation of Campus
C.S.H.B. 2196 authorizes a district or charter school to operate a full-time hybrid campus or a full‑time virtual campus if authorized by the commissioner in accordance with the bill's provisions. The bill requires the commissioner to adopt rules establishing the requirements for and process by which a district or charter school may apply for authorization to operate a full-time hybrid campus or full-time virtual campus. The bill establishes that the rules may require certain written application materials and interviews but that the rules must require a district or charter school to do the following:
engage in a year of planning before offering a course under the bill's provisions to verify the course is designed in accordance with high-quality criteria;
develop an academic plan that incorporates the following:
o curriculum and instructional practices aligned with the appropriate state curriculum standards;
o monitoring the progress of student performance and interventions;
o a method for meeting the needs of and complying with federal and state requirements for special populations and at-risk students; and
o compliance with the bill's requirements;
develop an operations plan that addresses the following:
o staffing models;
o the designation of selected school leaders;
o professional development for staff;
o student and family engagement;
o school calendars and schedules;
o student enrollment eligibility;
o cybersecurity and student data privacy measures; and
o any educational services to be provided by a private or third party; and
demonstrate the capacity to execute the district's or charter school's plan successfully.
C.S.H.B. 2196 requires a full-time hybrid campus or full-time hybrid virtual campus authorized under the bill's provisions to include the following:
at least one grade level in which a statewide standardized test or end-of-course test is required to be administered, including each subject or course for which a test is required in that grade level;
sufficient grade levels, as determined by the commissioner, to allow for the annual evaluation of the performance of students who complete the courses offered; or
for a campus that does not include the previously described grade levels, another performance evaluation measure approved by the commissioner during the authorization process.
Under the bill's provisions, a campus may only apply for and receive authorization to operate as a full-time hybrid campus or as a full-time virtual campus, and a campus may not change its operation designation during the authorization process or after the campus is authorized. The bill conditions the authority of the commissioner to authorize the operation of such a hybrid or virtual campus on the commissioner's determination that the authorization is likely to result in improved student learning opportunities. If a district or charter school will use a private or third party in operating a full-time hybrid campus or full-time virtual campus, the commissioner must consider the historical performance of the private or third party, if known, in making a determination for a campus operation authorization.
C.S.H.B. 2196 establishes that the commissioner's determination relating to the authorization of a full-time hybrid or full-time virtual campus is final and not subject to appeal.
Revocation of Authorization to Operate Campus
C.S.H.B. 2196 establishes that the commissioner's authorization of a campus to operate a full-time hybrid campus or full-time virtual campus continues indefinitely unless the commissioner revokes the authorization. The bill requires the commissioner to revoke the authorization if the campus has been assigned, for the three preceding school years, the following:
a needs improvement or unacceptable performance rating for accreditation purposes under state law relating to public school system accountability;
a rating of performance that needs improvement or unacceptable, as determined by the commissioner, on a performance evaluation measure approved by the commissioner under the bill's provisions; or
any combination of those ratings.
The bill authorizes the commissioner, based on a special investigation authorized under state law relating to public school system accountability, to revoke an authorization or require any intervention authorized under that law.
C.S.H.B. 2196 requires the commissioner, if a private or third party is determined to be ineligible, to revoke the authorization for operation, unless the commissioner approves a request by the district or charter school that operates the campus to use an alternative private or third party.
An appeal of a revocation of an authorization that results in the closure of a campus must be made under statutory provisions relating to sanction review by the State Office of Administrative Hearings.
Eligibility for Enrollment; Rights of Students
C.S.H.B. 2196 establishes that a student eligible to enroll in a Texas public school is eligible to enroll at a full-time hybrid campus and that a student is eligible to enroll in a full-time virtual campus if the student meets any of the following conditions:
attended a public school in Texas for a minimum of six weeks in the current school year or in the preceding school year;
is, in the school year in which the student first seeks to enroll in the campus, enrolled in the first grade or a lower grade level;
was not required to attend public school in Texas due to nonresidency during the preceding school year;
is a dependent of a member of the U.S. military who has been deployed; or
has been placed in substitute care in Texas.
C.S.H.B. 2196 prohibits a student enrolled in a district from being compelled to enroll in a full-time hybrid or full-time virtual campus but authorizes a charter school to require a student to attend a full-time hybrid or full-time virtual campus. A district must offer the option for a student's parent to select in-person instruction for the student.
Campus Designation
C.S.H.B. 2196 requires the commissioner to determine and assign a unique campus designation number to each full-time hybrid campus or full-time virtual campus authorized under the bill's provisions.
Remote and Hybrid Dropout Recovery Education Programs
C.S.H.B. 2196 includes among the requirements for a remote or hybrid dropout recovery education program a requirement that such a program be a full-time hybrid program or a full-time virtual program, or a full-time hybrid or virtual campus authorized under the bill's provisions.
C.S.H.B. 2196 repeals provisions relating to the authorization for a district or charter school that provides a course through distance learning and seeks to inform other districts or charter schools of the availability of the course to submit information to TEA regarding the course, including the number of positions available for student enrollment in the course.
Funding
C.S.H.B. 2196 requires the commissioner, for purposes of calculating the ADA of students attending a full-time hybrid campus or full-time virtual campus, to use the number of full-time equivalent students enrolled in the full-time hybrid or full-time virtual campus multiplied by the average attendance rate of the district or charter school that offers the full-time hybrid or full-time virtual campus not including any student enrolled full-time in a full-time hybrid or full-time virtual campus. In the event that a reliable attendance rate cannot be determined, the commissioner is required to use the statewide average attendance rate. The bill requires the commissioner to provide proportionate funding to the applicable district or charter school for a student that alternates attendance between a traditional, in-person campus setting and the full-time hybrid or full-time virtual campus of any single district or school in the same school year.
C.S.H.B. 2196 revises the commissioner's computation of a district or charter school's ADA for funding purposes with respect to a student who successfully completes a course that is offered in-person or remotely through an alternative education program for students at risk of dropping out of school, as follows:
changes the basis on which the commissioner is required to include the student in the computation from the student's successful completion of the course to the student's enrollment in the course; and
removes the requirement that the commissioner include a student who successfully completes a remote course in the computation based on a separate, specified attendance rate.
C.S.H.B. 2196 requires the commissioner to include a student enrolled in a remote or hybrid dropout recovery education program in the computation of the district's or charter school's ADA for funding purposes in the same manner as students enrolled in a full-time hybrid or virtual program or full-time hybrid or virtual campus, as applicable, under the bill's provisions. The bill authorizes the commissioner to adopt rules as necessary to implement provisions relating to compensatory, intensive, and accelerated instruction.
Private and Third-Party Providers
C.S.H.B. 2196 requires a district or charter school to provide notice to the commissioner of the use of or change in affiliation of a private or third party acting as a whole program virtual instruction provider for a full-time hybrid or full-time virtual campus or program. The bill prohibits a district or charter school from using a private or third party to act as a whole program virtual instruction provider if the party has been determined to be ineligible, except as otherwise provided by the bill.
C.S.H.B. 2196 requires the commissioner, to the extent feasible, to evaluate the performance of a private or third party acting as a whole program virtual instruction provider for a district or charter school and to establish a standard to determine if a private or third party is ineligible to act as a whole program virtual instruction provider. A private or third party determined to be ineligible remains ineligible until after the fifth anniversary of that determination. The bill authorizes a district or charter school to use a private or third party determined to be ineligible as a whole program virtual instruction provider if the district or charter school requests approval from the commissioner and the commissioner determines that the reasons the private or third party was declared ineligible will not affect the operation of the party as a whole program virtual instruction provider at the district or charter school.
State Support
C.S.H.B. 2196 requires TEA, from funds appropriated or otherwise available, to do the following:
develop professional development courses and materials aligned with research-based practices for educators in providing high-quality virtual education; and
provide grants and technical assistance to districts and charter schools to aid in the establishment of high-quality full-time hybrid or full-time virtual campuses.
Virtual Education as Alternative to Expulsion
C.S.H.B. 2196 requires a district or charter school, before the district or charter school may expel a student, to consider the appropriateness and feasibility of, as an alternative to expulsion, enrolling the student in a full-time hybrid program, full-time virtual program, full-time hybrid campus, or full-time virtual campus. The bill excludes from this requirement a student expelled under statutory provisions relating to expulsion and placement of certain students in alternative settings or expulsion for certain serious offenses.
Modification or Waiver of Requirements Relating to Average Daily Attendance
C.S.H.B. 2196 requires the commissioner, in a school year in which the occurrence of an emergency or crisis, as defined by commissioner rule, causes a statewide decrease in ADA of districts entitled to foundation school program funding or, for an emergency or crisis occurring only within a specific region of Texas, causes a regional decrease in the ADA of districts located in the affected region, to modify or waive requirements applicable to the affected districts under statutory provisions relating to ADA and adopt appropriate safeguards as necessary to ensure the continued support and maintenance of an efficient system of public free schools and the continued delivery of high-quality instruction under that system.
Revised Allotment for Special-Purpose School Districts
C.S.H.B. 2196 revises the entitlement of a special-purpose school district that is operated by a general academic teaching institution to foundation school program funding for certain students by requiring the entitlement to be determined as if the district were a full-time hybrid campus or full-time virtual campus with no tier one local share for those students.
Funding Currently Based on Students Receiving Instruction Through State Virtual School Network
C.S.H.B. 2196 revises the authorization for a student receiving a full-time virtual education through the state virtual school network to be included in determining the number of students who are educationally disadvantaged and reside in an applicable economically disadvantaged census block group for purposes of the compensatory education allotment if the school district submits to the commissioner a plan detailing the enhanced services that will be provided to the student and the commissioner approves the plan as follows:
changes the authorization to a requirement;
makes the provision applicable instead to a student receiving a full-time virtual education provided through a full-time virtual campus under the bill's provisions who otherwise meets the criteria for being educationally disadvantaged and residing in an economically disadvantaged census block group; and
removes the condition that the district submit and the commissioner approve the plan.
C.S.H.B. 2196 makes the requirement for the commissioner, in determining the number of students enrolled in a district for purposes of a fast growth allotment, to exclude students enrolled in the district who receive full-time instruction provided through the state virtual school network applicable instead to students enrolled in the district who receive full-time instruction provided through a full-time virtual campus under the bill's provisions. The bill adds a temporary provision set to expire September 1, 2031, requiring the commissioner, for purposes of making that determination relating to the fast growth allotment, to exclude students enrolled in the district who receive full-time instruction through the state virtual school network in accordance with provisions relating to the network as those provisions existed on September 1, 2024.
Distance Learning Courses
C.S.H.B. 2196 repeals the provisions authorizing a school district or charter school that provides a course through distance learning and seeks to inform other districts or schools of the availability of the course to submit information to TEA regarding the course, authorizing the commissioner to adopt necessary rules, prohibiting the commissioner from adopting rules governing course pricing, and requiring the price for a course to be determined by the districts or charter schools involved.
Transition Provisions and Procedural Provisions
C.S.H.B. 2196 authorizes a district or charter school providing an electronic course or a full-time program through the state virtual school network in accordance with, or under a waiver of, statutory provisions relating to the network, as those provisions existed immediately before the bill's effective date, to continue to provide that course or program as if those provisions were still in effect until the end of the 2026-2027 school year. However, the bill requires the funding provided to a district or charter school for a student enrolled in an electronic course or full-time program offered through the state virtual school network in accordance with, or under a waiver of, those provisions, as they existed immediately before the bill's effective date, to be determined, as applicable, under the bill's provisions relating to foundation school funding for students enrolled in hybrid courses, virtual courses, full-time hybrid programs, or full-time virtual programs and funding for students enrolled at full-time hybrid campuses and full-time virtual campuses.
C.S.H.B. 2196 requires the commissioner to adopt rules providing an expedited authorization process for a district or charter school that applies to operate a full-time hybrid campus or a full‑time virtual campus under the bill's provisions if the district or charter school, as of the bill's effective date, does either of the following:
operates an electronic course or full-time program through the state virtual school network in accordance with statutory provisions relating to the network as those provisions existed immediately before the bill's effective date; or
operates a virtual education program, regardless of whether the district or charter school received funding for students enrolled in the program during the 2022-2023, 2023-2024 or 2024‑2025 school year.
C.S.H.B. 2196 applies beginning with the 2025-2026 school year.
Repealed Provisions
C.S.H.B. 2196 repeals the following provisions of the Education Code:
Section 26.0031(f);
Section 29.909; and
Chapter 30A.
EFFECTIVE DATE
On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2025.
COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE
While C.S.H.B. 2196 may differ from the introduced in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.
Definitions
Both the introduced and the substitute define "full-time hybrid program" using criteria for student attendance and method of delivery of instruction and content. Whereas the introduced specifies that the attendance criteria is attendance in person for less than 90 percent of the minutes of instruction provided, the substitute further specifies that this instruction is instruction provided in a school year.
Foundation School Program Funding
The substitute omits the provision present in the introduced that established that a student enrolled in a hybrid course, virtual course, full-time hybrid program, or full-time virtual program offered under the bill's provisions by a district or charter school is counted toward the district's or charter school's average daily attendance (ADA) in the same manner as students who are not enrolled in such a course or program at a district or charter school. The substitute instead sets out a provision requiring the commissioner by rule to adopt procedures for reporting and verifying the attendance of a student enrolled in such a course or program provided by the district or charter school, with specified requirements for those procedures.
Transition Provisions and Procedural Provisions
Both the introduced and the substitute provide for the continued provision, until the end of the 2026-2027 school year, of an electronic course or a full-time program by a district or charter school through the state virtual school network, as well as the determination of the associated funding provided to the district or school, in accordance with the statutes governing the network as those statutes existed immediately before the bill's effective date. However, the substitute provides for such continuation and the funding determination for a district or charter school providing such a course or program under a waiver of those statutes, whereas the introduced did not provide for such continuation and funding under such a waiver.
Both the introduced and the substitute require the commissioner to adopt rules providing an expedited authorization process for a district or charter school that applies to operate a full-time hybrid campus or a full‑time virtual campus under the bill's provisions if the district or charter school, as of the bill's effective date, operates a virtual education program regardless of whether the district or school received funding for students enrolled in the program during the 2023-2024 or 2024-2025 school year. The substitute makes that requirement applicable to a district or school that received funding for students enrolled in the program during the 2022-2023 school year.
Repealed Provisions
The substitute also repeals the provisions authorizing a school district or charter school that provides a course through distance learning and seeks to inform other districts or schools of the availability of the course to submit information to TEA regarding the course, whereas the introduced did not repeal that provision