Senate education committee adopts substitute for virtual education bill, hears testimony on expansion and funding

The Senate Committee on Education adopted a committee substitute for Senate Bill 5 69 and heard more than two hours of invited and public testimony about expanding and regulating virtual and hybrid public-school programs.

The substitute, sponsored by Sen. Roland Bettencourt and based on unanimous recommendations from the Texas Commission on Virtual Education, would create a single, unified section of code covering virtual courses, hybrid programs and virtual campuses while including provisions for parent and student rights, provider accountability, professional development, and state support. The committee later voted to report the substitute favorably to the full Senate.

Committee members and invited witnesses said the bill is intended to preserve programs that began under COVID-era waivers, provide quality controls and make virtual options available statewide. Rex Gore, who chaired the state commission, told the committee, “This bill aligns very well with the bipartisan unanimous recommendations of the commission,” and said the commission heard more than 37…