Lone Star Online Academy Is Closing. Here's a Texas Online School Still Enrolling

Lone Star Online Academy is closing, and about 12,000 Texas families are now looking for a new school. If you're one of them, you have time to choose carefully, and you have more than one option.

Novatio is a Cognia-accredited virtual private school for grades 2 through 8. For Texas families who receive a TEFA award, the $8,500 annual tuition can be covered in full.

What's happening with Lone Star Online Academy?

Lone Star Online Academy is shutting down. Roscoe Collegiate ISD declined to renew its contract with Stride K-12, the company that operated the school, ending the program for roughly 12,000 virtual students across Texas. Many parents say they had no advance warning. As Texas Standard reported, the school had also received an F state accountability rating every year since 2021.

Stride has said it will help place students in its other Texas virtual schools. That's the most straightforward path, but it isn't your only one.

Should you move to another Stride school, or look elsewhere?

A closure is a reasonable moment to ask whether the model was actually working for your child. If Lone Star's approach to academics wasn't a good fit, moving to a school built the same way may not change much. You also have the option to choose something built differently.

The honest trade-off: switching to a new school mid-search takes more time upfront. But if your child was disengaged or falling behind, staying in a familiar structure for convenience alone isn't necessarily the safer choice.

What is Novatio, and how does it work?

Novatio is a Cognia-accredited virtual private school for grades 2 through 8. Students complete about two hours of personalized, mastery-based academics each morning, working at their own level in each subject and moving forward once they've demonstrated mastery. Afternoons shift to live clubs built around practical skills, real projects and teacher coaching. There's no homework.

One thing to know before going further: Novatio serves grades 2 through 8 only. Families with children in grades K-1 or in high school will need a different option.

How does personalized learning actually work?

All students follow the same subject schedule, but the work within each subject is matched to where your child actually is. During the math block, one student might be strengthening multiplication while another is working on algebra. A student can be at a higher level in math and a lower level in reading at the same time, and Novatio treats those as separate. Your child isn't locked into one grade-level label across every subject.

When a student gets stuck, certified teachers step in directly. Students aren't left alone with a program to figure things out on their own.

What do afternoons look like?

Afternoons are live clubs that rotate roughly every nine to eleven weeks. Past clubs have included coding and game design, financial literacy through a life simulation, debate and global issues, and well-being and habit-building adapted from Yale's Science of Well-Being course. Clubs are built around a real challenge or project rather than just covering a topic. Not every club runs every session.

Does Novatio cost anything, and how does TEFA work?

Novatio's Texas tuition is $8,500 per school year. For families who receive a Texas Education Freedom Account, TEFA can cover that amount in full, bringing your cost to $0.

There are two things worth understanding clearly. First, Novatio is a private school. The $0 cost comes through a TEFA award, not automatically the way a public school works. Second, Novatio acceptance and TEFA approval are separate processes. Novatio accepts all applicants. TEFA funding is awarded by the state, and not every family receives it. Families whose child qualifies under current TEFA disability-related rules may receive a larger award. For the most current information on TEFA amounts and eligibility, check the official Texas program guidelines.

You can start your Novatio application before you finish your TEFA steps. The two processes can run at the same time.

Will Novatio work if my child struggled or has an IEP or 504?

Novatio accepts all applicants regardless of grades, test scores or academic history. Many of the supports students with IEPs or 504 plans often need are built into the regular school day rather than added only after a student falls behind. These can include individual pacing by subject, extended time, frequent breaks, short focused session blocks, text-to-speech and voice-to-text tools, and direct teacher intervention.

For students who need more, Novatio offers a Special Education Support Program with services such as case management, executive-function coaching, targeted reading support and one-on-one dyslexia intervention. For students with an IEP or 504, state funding covers the added cost of those services. Contact admissions to talk through what your child's plan might look like.

Does the model actually produce results?

NWEA MAP data from Novatio's first cohort showed students learned 4.6 times faster than expected during the measured period. One Novatio student moved from the 8th to the 80th percentile in reading over one year, based on NWEA MAP scores. Both are real data points. Neither is a guarantee, and individual results vary.

Because Novatio is Cognia-accredited, the same kind of accreditation many established schools carry, its standards are reviewed by an independent body.

One parent put it this way:

"This is NOT an AI school, this is a school that applies features of AI to customized learning for each child."

Another noted that teachers and the administration "feel like part of our extended family, and best of all, the friendships made at school are organic and natural."

These are individual family experiences, not typical results.

How do I get started after Lone Star Online Academy closes?

You can start the Novatio application in under two minutes. There's no application fee and no commitment. After you apply, admissions will set up a call to answer your questions and walk your family through enrollment and your TEFA steps.

If you'd prefer to talk before applying, you can book a 1:1 call with Karissa to ask about fit, support services or anything else on your mind.