Before March 2020, virtual education was a niche offering in Texas public education, serving fewer than 1% of Texas students. Then school closures related to the COVID-19 pandemic plunged the nation and state into an extended experiment in emergency remote education. While Texas virtual education needed renovation even before the pandemic, the state’s experiences exposed the existing framework as untenable for the 21st century. Now, Texas has a unique opportunity to update state policy on virtual and hybrid education, using the lessons we have learned.