School districts across North Texas are rolling out full-time virtual and hybrid learning programs for high school students this fall.
Frisco, Granbury, Denton and Argyle ISDs are among districts that have announced plans to offer new virtual options after a 2025 state law expanded pathways for students to attend school.
Senate Bill 569 “gives us a little bit more freedom and how we meet the needs of our students,” said Frisco ISD Associate Deputy Superintendent Wes Cunningham.
The district will start its Frisco Flex program this fall. After the pandemic, Frisco ISD was allowed by the state to teach through a modified online instruction for certain students in 2022. Now, the program is available for all high school students, including those outside the district, who apply.
Frisco ISD is working with teachers to build courses from the ground up to align with the curriculum, Cunningham said.
“We're trying to build in week to two-week chunks of learning has to be done within this timeline,” Cunningham said. “And the teachers will have check-ins with students on a fairly regular basis.”
Cunningham said the program could help keep students within the district and bring back students who have left to go to other districts. Frisco ISD, once the fastest-growing district in the state, has lost hundreds of students in recent years as enrollment shifts across the region.
“We’re trying to bring them back home; come back to the family,” Cunningham said. We want to increase those numbers over time, but these things take a little bit of time.”
Like Frisco, Granbury ISD leaders hope their BridgeED virtual-hybrid program for high schoolers will keep student enrollment rates up. Superintendent Courtney Morawski told school board members earlier this year there’s a “sense of urgency” as enrollment dips.
“We're down a hundred students and so I don't think this board, it would be smart for us to create a system where we are giving an opportunity for other students to leave our district,” Morawski said. “We need to be creating systems where students are staying or even being attracted into our school.”
But virtual programs might not be for all students, Granbury Trustee Courtney Gore said. Speaking during a February board meeting, she said she supports the program, but that virtual learning can be harder for some students who need extra support in the classroom.
“The rigor can actually be higher because it has that stigma of being a virtual program,” Gore said. “It almost makes it mandatory for the rigor to be high because of that.”
Granbury’s program will require students to be on campus every day.
Morawski said even though school will look different under Granbury’s hybrid program, education is still top priority.
“We're designing the program so that we can decide how can students have flexibility in the way they're learning but also participate in the wonderful things the high school has to offer,” Morawski said.
Avery Escamilla-Wendell is KERA’s news intern. Got a tip? Email Avery at aescamillawendell@kera.org. You can follow heron Instagram @by_avery_escamilla.
KERA News is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, consider making a tax-deductible gift today. Thank you.
