SAN ANTONIO — San Antonio's second-largest San Antonio school district shared an important update for families regarding the fall. North East Independent School District said it "will only offer in-person classes next school year and will discontinue all permanent, remote learning."
The news isn't completely unexpected since HB 1468, a bill that would fund schools conducting remote learning, failed in the Texas Legislature on June 9. It would have allowed school districts and open enrollment charter schools to offer virtual learning for up to 10% of their students and receive the same amount of state funding as that received for in-person students.
“We really thought we had a good bill, and still do," Superintendent for Northside Independent School District Brian Woods said last week.
NEISD's post explained the district's dilemma, saying "We recognize that a small minority of our families have expressed an interest in virtual learning, but we cannot in good conscience try to offer remote learning without the appropriate law(s) in place, guidance from the state, and gaining access to the necessary resources to support remote learning."
It went on to explain that NEISD is only offering in-person classes for the 2021-2022 school year and will discontinue all permanent, remote learning. Although, the end of the post left a possibility that things might turn out differently.
"If anything changes, we will let you know," Anthony Jarrett, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction, said in the post.
As for NISD, about 500 students qualify for virtual learning out of more than 100,000. Woods said the district is trying to research other ways to provide remote instruction. He doesn't expect to receive funding from the state unless the Texas Legislature is called to a special session.
