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.
Matthew McCormick’s Testimony to the Texas State Board of Education
When evaluating works for inclusion in the curriculum, only two factors should be considered: 1) the suitability and age-appropriateness of the work, and 2) its usefulness as a tool to teach literacy and literature. I am pleased to report that the Texas Education Agency has recommended a course of texts that achieves both of these...