Montgomery ISD Wants a Virtual High School by Spring. Its Students Would Still Go to Prom.
By The Magnolia Standard · October 13, 2026
It is a proposal, not a program yet. Part of the point is to win back families who already left for online school.
Montgomery ISD, the district that serves the city of Montgomery and the country around it, is drawing up an online high school. Its trustees heard the plan at a special meeting on October 6. If they go ahead, a small group of students in grades 9 through 12 would start taking every class from home in the spring 2027 semester.
One note before the details, since both districts get shortened to MISD: this is Montgomery ISD, not Magnolia ISD.
Why the district wants it
Amy Busby, the district's assistant superintendent of student services, told the board the idea came from inside the district, out of conversations with parents, teachers and administrators. The pilot is meant to test whether the program works. It is also meant to bring back students who recently left Montgomery ISD for a virtual school somewhere else.
Who could enroll
- Students zoned to Montgomery ISD, or whose transfer into the district has been approved.
- Grades 9 through 12, and only a limited number of seats in the spring.
- The district recommends it only for students who have already passed their required end-of-course and STAAR exams.
- Approval also depends on how many credits a student still needs. The courses come through Pearson, and not every class required for graduation is offered.
What they would keep
Online students would still be allowed into UIL activities, pep rallies, prom and student clubs, within each group's own bylaws. Their online grades would count toward class rank, the same way the district already counts online coursework for students who transfer in from a virtual program. Each would get a district laptop loaded with the course software and a monitoring system meant to keep the work honest.
The longer plan
- Spring 2027: the limited pilot.
- 2027-28: open enrollment, if the board likes the pilot's results.
- 2028-29 and after: keep the online students and offer more options to everyone else, such as hybrid schedules.
What happens next
Nothing has been approved. The board takes the plan up again at its next public meeting, on October 20. If you have a student in Montgomery ISD and an opinion about this, that is the meeting.
Update, November 10, 2026: At a special meeting on November 2, Montgomery ISD's board voted to put the pilot on hold, with no date set to bring it back. Our story.
Sources: Community Impact's October 8, 2026 report on the October 6 special board meeting, for the proposal, its timeline, eligibility, the Pearson courses, the activities and class-rank policies, the laptops, Ms. Busby's remarks and the October 20 meeting. Corrections to editor@themagnoliastandard.news.