SB 569 Overview: Virtual and Hybrid Learning Guidance for the 2025–2026 School Year

Overview

Senate Bill (SB) 569, passed during the 89th Regular Legislative Session, 2025, repeals Texas Education Code (TEC), Chapter 30A, related to the Texas Virtual School Network (TXVSN), establishes TEC, Chapter 30B, creating a new policy framework for virtual and hybrid education, and provides a transition period for already existing courses, programs, and campuses.

Under TEC, Chapter 30B, school systems may now offer virtual and hybrid instruction through a variety of models, including individual courses, programs, or full-time virtual and hybrid campuses. This breadth of options allows districts to align offerings with their instructional goals and operational capacity, whether by starting with targeted courses or implementing comprehensive models such as full time virtual and hybrid programs and campuses. 

Offering individual courses can help address staffing challenges, support credit recovery, and expand learning opportunities without requiring major changes to existing structures. In contrast, full time virtual or hybrid programs and campuses provide a more strategic approach to advancing school system goals and meeting a broader range of student needs. These models can expand access to advanced coursework, support personalized learning, and offer flexibility for initiatives such as work-based learning.

While school systems may offer courses and programs for the 2025-2026 school year, new full-time virtual or full-time hybrid campuses must obtain authorization from TEA before operating. Details about the authorization process will be provided in future communications from the agency. 

Transition for TXVSN and TXVSN Waiver Schools

School systems currently providing virtual or hybrid courses or operating virtual/hybrid campuses under TEC, Chapter 30A, which include campuses participating in the Texas Virtual School Network (TXVSN) or those that received a waiver to operate such campuses during the 2023–2024 or 2024–2025 school year, may continue to operate, as they did previously through the 2026–2027 school year, with student eligibility to participate in these options remaining consistent with prior years.  

Beginning with the 2025–2026 school year, funding for campuses will follow the requirements outlined in TEC, §30B.106. For full-time hybrid or virtual campuses, average daily attendance will be calculated using the number of enrolled full-time equivalent students multiplied by the average attendance rate of the district or charter school offering the campus, excluding students enrolled in those hybrid or virtual campuses. If a reliable attendance rate is not available, the statewide average will be used instead. Funding for individual courses will be in accordance with TEC, §30B.007, based on attendance. Please see the Attendance and Funding Section below for more details.

Forthcoming Rulemaking

The agency will begin the rulemaking process during the 2025-2026 school year. Concurrently, the agency will establish and collaborate with an advisory committee and additional stakeholders, ensuring that implementation of SB 569 aligns with the operational necessities of school systems. 

In the interim, and prior to the adoption of rules, this TAA provides guidance to school systems that wish to offer virtual or hybrid instruction. It includes recommendations on attendance tracking and outlines funding eligibility for students enrolled in virtual or hybrid campuses, programs, and courses. 

Note: Due to the timing of SB 569’s passage, the 2025–2026 Student Attendance Accounting Handbook (SAAH) does not reflect the provisions outlined in this TAA. LEAs are encouraged to use this guidance as they plan and implement virtual and hybrid instructional models for the 2025-2026 school year. Information collected through the advisory committee and stakeholders will be used to revise the 2026-2027 SAAH.

School systems may continue to offer remote instruction options such as remote homebound and remote conferencing, provided they follow the procedures specified in the current SAAH.

Virtual and Hybrid Delivery Formats under Chapter 30B

Virtual and Hybrid Courses

• Virtual Course is a course in which instruction and content are delivered synchronously or asynchronously primarily over the internet. 
• Hybrid Course is a course in which a student is in attendance in person for less than 90% of instructional minutes; and the instruction and content may be delivered synchronously, asynchronously over the Internet, in person, or through other means. 

School systems may deliver instruction through new virtual and hybrid courses provided they meet the following requirements: 

Course Requirements Established by SB 569

• Certify that each course includes the appropriate Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) and that courses meet the National Standards for Quality Online Courses.
• Provides instruction at the appropriate level of rigor for the grade level at which the course is offered and will prepare students enrolled for the next grade level or subsequent course in a similar subject area.
• Submit information on virtual courses to the Texas Education Agency to be published on the agency website.
• Any hybrid or virtual course offered to a student receiving special education services or other accommodations must be designed and delivered in a manner that meets the student’s individual needs, consistent with Subchapter A, Chapter 29 of the TEC, and with federal law, including the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as applicable. 

Additionally, school systems that intend to offer virtual or hybrid courses must meet other operational requirements outlined in SB 569. 

These requirements do not apply to courses under TEC, Chapter 30A, or to those that previously had a waiver for provisions of Chapter 30A to operate during the 2023-2024 or 2024-2025 school years. School systems may continue providing such courses through the 2026–2027 school year. New courses provided by them, however, are subject to the requirements noted above. 

To support informed choices for families and streamline access to virtual learning opportunities, the agency will maintain a publicly accessible list of virtual courses offered by districts and open-enrollment charter schools. Accordingly, those offering virtual courses are requested to complete and submit the Virtual Course Listing Form by September 30, 2025, for courses offered in the fall semester of 2025. An additional form may be submitted with course offerings for the spring and summer semesters by November 30, 2025.

Full-Time Virtual and Full-Time Hybrid Programs
School systems are permitted to offer full-time virtual or hybrid programs under Chapter 30B without the requirement of establishing a separate campus. Virtual and hybrid programs operating within existing campuses may do so without additional authorization from the agency if enrollment in these programs constitutes less than 50% of the total students enrolled at the campus. A district or charter school approved instructional plan and clearly defined policies to inform implementation are recommended for effective program operation. 

• Full-Time Virtual Program is an educational option where students attend almost entirely online, receiving instruction and content primarily via the Internet, either synchronously or asynchronously, with minimal to no in-person attendance.
• Full-Time Hybrid Program is a full-time educational option where a student attends in-person classes for less than 90% of instructional time. Instruction can be delivered online (synchronously or asynchronously), in person, or through other methods. Hybrid programs may be organized so that courses are delivered partly in-person and partly online or scheduled such that students attend both virtual and in-person classes within the same school day, or through a combination of these methods.

Full-time Virtual and Full-time Hybrid Campuses 
School systems must apply through the new authorization process for full-time, virtual, or hybrid campuses. This process will begin after rules are adopted in the 2025–2026 school year.

• Full-Time Virtual Campus: a school district or open-enrollment charter school campus at which at least 50 percent of the enrolled students are enrolled in a full-time virtual program authorized under TEC, Chapter 30B.
• Full-Time Hybrid Campus: a school district or open-enrollment charter school campus at which at least 50 percent of the enrolled students are enrolled in a full-time hybrid program authorized under TEC, Chapter 30B. 

 
Attendance and Funding Guidelines

The following guidance outlines attendance procedures and funding for the 2025–2026 school year as the Texas Education Agency adopts rules under the new Chapter 30B. 

School systems operating full-time virtual or hybrid campuses or programs must meet the requirement of providing 75,600 operational minutes. Average daily attendance (ADA) eligibility for students enrolled in these campuses or programs is determined by the ADA eligibility code reported by the school system.

To be eligible to generate ADA, students must be scheduled for and receive instruction in accordance with minimum daily instructional time requirements. Specifically, students must be scheduled for and receive at least 120 minutes of instruction per day to be eligible for half-day attendance, and at least 240 minutes of instruction per day to be eligible for full-day attendance. 

Based on the delivery method used, the chart below serves as a reference for determining compliance with attendance and funding guidelines

Special Note on Attendance and Funding for Remote or Hybrid Dropout Recovery Programs

Students enrolled in remote or hybrid dropout recovery programs under TEC, §29.081(e-2), will be included in a district or school’s average daily attendance for funding purposes in the same manner as students enrolled in full-time hybrid or virtual programs or campuses under Chapter 30B. This aligns with changes to TEC, §29.081(f-1), integrating dropout recovery program funding into the broader virtual and hybrid education framework. 

Next Steps to Implement Virtual or Hybrid Instruction

Districts and open-enrollment charter schools are not required to offer virtual or hybrid instruction under TEC, Chapter 30B, but may choose to do so through individual courses, programs, or full-time campuses. For those opting to implement these models in the 2025–2026 school year, the following guidance applies:

• Select a Delivery Method
  Determine whether instruction will be offered as a course or program. For campuses, authorization from the agency is required to establish new full-time virtual or full-time hybrid campuses. Campuses that have 50% or more of students are enrolled in virtual or hybrid formats will need to seek authorization and that process will only be made available after the rulemaking process in the Spring of 2025. 
• Submit Course Listings
  If offering virtual courses, submit course details by September 30, 2025, or as early as possible to support inclusion in the agency’s public list of virtual courses via the Virtual Course Listing Form. 
• Establish Local Procedures for Instruction and Compliance
  School systems should develop or update local policies to support instructional delivery, attendance tracking, and funding compliance. This includes ensuring 75,600 operational minutes annually, meeting daily instructional time thresholds for ADA eligibility, and maintaining appropriate documentation and Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS) reporting.

Additional guidance on program implementation will be provided following the rulemaking process during the 2025–2026 school year.

For further assistance, please direct any additional questions to virtual.hybrid@tea.texas.gov.