White County will not offer virtual learning for 21/22

The new rule means that students who want to keep learning remotely or virtually from home will have to enroll in virtual schools instead of enrolling in their zoned school or school of choice.

Tennessee schools will not be permitted to teach students both in-person and remotely next school year under a new rule approved by the State Board of Education last month.

During a special-called meeting, on April 12, 2021, the State Board of Education approved a new policy that will not allow schools to operate on what they classify as a hybrid system in which some students participate in in-person classes, while others who are enrolled in the same school participate remotely. The new law will require students to enroll in either a physical in-person school or a separate and distinct virtual school.

“Students who want full-time virtual education will therefore need to enroll in virtual school,” Amy Owen, director of policy and research for the state board, said. “I know the department has provided guidance for how to establish virtual schools for LEAs (school districts) that don’t already have one and for parameters for virtual school in general.”

The hybrid model of instruction was allowed during the 2020-2021 school year when the Department of Education required districts to create what they called “continuous learning plans” before the start of the school year, however, those plans are set to expire when the state of emergency, originally issued by Gov. Bill Lee last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, expires.

Under the Continuous Learning Plans, each district was able to determine what was the best way to meet the educational needs of the students in their communities. This resulted in an array of different learning models across the state ranging from students participating in in-person learning on alternating days as their cohorts, to some students staying completely virtual, while others participated in daily in-person learning.

Not only were the learning experiences different from district to district, the methods that teachers were having to use to reach their students were also different. Some educators were required to teach students in the classroom as well as those at home simultaneously, while others were teaching only in-person classes or only online classes. Still others were splitting their time between the models.

Penny Schwinn, Tennessee’s commissioner of education, said the decision to require virtual students to enroll in separate, established virtual schools within their districts is aimed at relieving some of the burden that hybrid learning has put on educators.

“It’s really difficult to teach students who are in front of you and students who are on a computer, and that is what has been asked of our educators,” Schwinn said.

Virtual schools, as defined by the state with 10 counties having operated virtual schools prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, are required to have their own state school number and operate separately from any other school in the district.

The new rule means that students who want to keep learning remotely or virtually from home will have to enroll in virtual schools instead of enrolling in their zoned school or school of choice, and White County Director of Schools Kurt Dronebarger said that won’t be an option for students enrolled in the White County school systems.

“White County schools will not offer a Virtual Instruction Program during the 2021-22 school year,” Dronebarger announced. “We have been proud to offer this option to families during this difficult season, but our plan is for all students to experience in-person learning in the coming school year.”

Dronebarger went on to say that students now participating in the Virtual Instruction Program, the name that White County has used for its virtual learning program during the current school year, will not have to re-enroll.

“The school district will automatically place these students in their zoned school for the next school year,” he said, and then added that anyone with questions surrounding VIP, should call Shaun Floyd at (931) 836-2229.