Wylie ISD won’t provide remote learning this school year, but trustees at Monday’s meeting learned about some options for parents concerned about sending their children to in-person classes in the fall.

House Bill 1468, which targeted remote learning, was not approved by Texas lawmakers in the latest legislative session. Deputy Superintendent Kim Spicer explained virtual learning would not be fully funded, which means if the district offered remote learning, it would be funded only at 50%. So instead of a district receiving fully weighted daily attendance for a student if the district taught them virtually, a district would receive half of that funding. Thus, the district opted out of virtual learning in the 2021-22 school year.

Campus leaders in Wylie ISD will contact parents who filled out an online survey and were concerned about sending their children to campuses this fall. One option for families will be the Texas Virtual School Network, which is open for grades 3-12. If students are in the upper grades and need a smaller environment, they could attend the district’s Achieve Academy. For those who have health concerns, district officials will see about serving students through OHI (other health impairment) with a homebound program. This option also will be likely, too: https://www.depts.ttu.edu/k12/.

Also Tuesday, the board heard the district had a 94% participation in the STAAR test, which Spicer said should be considered a point for a huge celebration. The district reported 89% of high school students passed their STAAR end of course exams this spring; that percentage was down from 92% in 2019. Educators, though, had to cope with a number of complexities in teaching this year, with students on campus and in remote learning during the year. Students had to take the STAAR on campus. No testing was done in 2020.

During public forum, the board heard another round of criticism about the district’s Diversity and Inclusion program, which has been the subject of opposition from some parents in the last few meetings. The program, which seeks to broaden students’ understanding of diversity issues, began this year.

Trustees heard some requests that the program be put on an upcoming agenda so that it can be discussed by the board, whose next meeting is in August.

From Staff Reports [email protected]