“Families want choice”: Midway ISD considers online courses for students and homeschoolers
District gauging interest for virtual instruction program that could launch next year
WACO, Texas (KWTX) - Midway ISD students and other area students or homeschoolers may soon be able to take online classes through the district.
The district is currently gauging interest for a virtual school option, something they believe would benefit their current students while hopefully bringing more to the district.
Dr. Becky Odajima, the Assistant Superintendent of teaching and learning, says they could have online courses as soon as next year thanks to recent changes to the Texas Education Code.
“The 89th legislature, Senate Bill 569, changed the way we can do virtual instruction,” Dr. Odajima said.
The legislation allows schools to offer virtual and hybrid instruction for the first time since COVID.
“I think families want choice, and so this offers that choice,” Dr. Odajima shared, “It also makes seats available for our classes within the school, and then it offers that option for students that need something beyond the traditional high school setting”.
She explains that there will be three different options for students in grades 6-12. The first option is a fully online, virtual education.
“They would have to come to our site for testing on state and district required testing dates, but other than that they could really live anywhere in the state of Texas,” Dr. Odajima said.
There is also a hybrid option that would allow students to take in-person classes, on top of 4 or more online classes.
“A CTE class that you would need hands-on experiences to participate in, or an extracurricular… choir, an athletic course, you know any fine art or something that you couldn’t necessarily do online,” Dr. Odajima shared.
The third option offers a la carte courses for students who want to take just one online class online.
According to Dr. Odajima, “Those would be open to our students, but also students that aren’t necessarily enrolled full time with Midway ISD”.
And with the passage of school choice legislation, some families might be able to use Texas Education Freedom Account funds to pay for those courses.
“If we are not offering a service to as a school district to a family that has a voucher, should they choose to purchase a single class, like an a la carte online class, they could use some of their voucher money to pay for that,” Dr. Odajima explained.
As for who will teach these online classes, the district plans to partner with a company that will provide Texas-certified teachers and courses.
“Which gives us the ability to offer the entire spectrum of courses without having to have 30 students that selected this course in order to offer it,” Dr. Odajima said.
The district’s virtual school interest form is now available on Midway ISD’s website, already receiving around 150 responses in the first 24 hours.
The district plans to begin interest in enrollment this spring, with enrollment opening in the Fall of 2026.
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