(a) General provisions.
  (1) The Texas Education Agency (TEA) will announce and execute an open application for blended learning grants pursuant to Texas Education Code (TEC), §29.924, to assist school districts and open-enrollment charter schools in implementing effective blended learning models.
  (2) "Blended learning" means an instructional delivery method that combines classroom and online instruction and is facilitated with instructional software.
(b) Application and selection process.
  (1) TEA will make publicly available the blended learning grant application, eligibility criteria, and scoring rubric. Priority will be given to school districts and open-enrollment charter schools with the highest numbers of educationally disadvantaged students.
  (2) Submitted applications will be scored according to the published scoring rubric, and grants will be awarded by TEA to the school districts and open-enrollment charter schools whose applications are scored highest under the rubric.
  (3) All grantees must complete the requirements of the program described in TEC, §29.924(d).
(c) Training programs. TEA will publish a list of approved training programs pursuant to TEC, §29.924. TEA will approve training programs based on a scoring rubric that will be made publicly available. The list of currently approved training programs is available on the TEA website, and TEA will update the list at its discretion.

Source Note: The provisions of this §102.1501 adopted to be effective March 2, 2021, 46 TexReg 1380