HOUSTON – It’s important to note that under TEA’S new guidelines, school districts can stop offering virtual learning to individual students who have poor grades or attendance and we’ve already seen that at Barbours Hill ISD and other parts of Texas.
At a recent school board meeting, Friendswood ISD referenced the grade issues.
At the agenda from Nov. 9, Friendswood ISD highlighted failure rates, showing that in the first nine weeks of the school year, 29% of virtual Friendswood ISD high school students were failing one or more classes, in contrast, 8.5% of in-person high school learners are failing one or more classes.
The agenda shows the proposed changes for virtual learning options. It would be available for students who have tested positive or must be quarantined or if students meet certain criteria.
What does this mean? In order for students to participate virtually, all class averages must be above 70 and students may not have more than three or more unexcused absences. If they fail to meet the requirements, they would have to return to face-to-face instruction. Students could appeal if they or someone in the household has a health condition.
As far as cases go, the district shows there are 10 active cases out of 6,000 students and 664 employees. The school board meeting is scheduled to take place at 6:30 p.m.