COVID-19 Update
For In-Person Classroom Instruction
School Closures Extended to May 4

Highlights from TEN’s current reporting period, ending 8 a.m. Wednesday, April 1:

School Closures
Gov. Abbott told Texas schools (March 31) that they can’t reopen for in-person classroom instruction until at least Monday, May 4, “unless otherwise extended.”

Abbott had previously ordered schools to close at least through Friday, April 3.

School staff can can still be on-site, as long as they follow the CDC’s coronavirus sanitation and social distancing guidelines.

Districts are also still required to provide off-campus “continuity of learning” instruction via the Internet, distributed printed instructional packets, etc.
Abbott’s orders additionally include requiring the closure, until April 30, of all businesses unless they are considered to be “essential” or unless their employees will perform their work remotely.

The list of categories of businesses and services that are considered essential is at:
tdem.texas.gov/essentialservices

COVID-19 Relief Bill
President Trump signed (March 27) the $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES), the third in a series of COVID-19 related bills passed into U.S. law.

The latest bill includes $13.5 billion for K-12 education and additional amounts for other educational programs. Cli

As of press time, details of how and when the funds will be distributed to Texas and other states had not been released.

This is the same bill that, as has been widely reported, provides automatic checks of up to $1,500 to individuals ($500 for children) and provides six-month deferrals of federally insured student loan payments and interest, among other provisions.

Click here for the National Education Association's summary of the education related provisions of the bill.

TRS
TRS Executive Director Brian Guthrie assured the system’s members during a live online interview (March 27) with Texas Retired Teachers Association Executive Director Tim Lee that there’s no need to worry about pension checks not going out on time, despite the fact that most TRS employees are working remotely.

Guthrie also said that he’s not worried about the effects of the coronavirus-induced market swings on the TRS pension fund.

Went from $163 Billion to $151 Billion
Guthrie said that as of the evening of March 26, the total market value of the fund stood at $151 billion, down from the $163 billion on Jan. 1 of this year, and from the $157 billion at the start of the state’s fiscal year last Sept. 1.

Guthrie noted that the current reduction in the pension fund’s market value hasn’t been as severe as what happened in 2008, when the fund was reduced to nearly half of its size, from $104 billion to around $50-to-$60 billion.

Guthrie described the fund as “long-term and liquid.”

“We don’t have to react spontaneously to market fluctuations like we’re seeing today. We’re not overreacting,” he said, adding that changes to the market’s conditions won’t affect the payments of annuities to TRS retirees.

Guthrie reminded TRS members that unlike individual 401(k) accounts with values that fluctuate with the market, annuity payments are fixed as long as there are enough assets in the fund.

Guthrie also noted that the TRS health plans for retirees and active members pay for COVID-19 testing if they meet CDC guidelines. The TRS advises members to check with their health providers about their health coverage for the testing.

Sad News
Waco ISD announced (March 31) that Phillip Perry, principal of G.W. Carver Middle School, passed away due to complications from COVID-19.

The district had previously notified the school’s community and Waco media when Perry was hospitalized after testing positive for the disease, and asked for anyone who may have come into contact with him to notify their healthcare providers. Waco city officials said Perry had underlying health conditions which contributed to his death.

Virtual Meeting
The April 14-17 State Board of Education meeting will be held virtually under a stripped-down agenda focusing on items that require immediate action. Details on how the public can participate in the meeting remotely, such as by giving testimony, will be announced later (likely here or here). It’s possible that the number of days the board will meet could be shortened.

School Meals
As of March 25, Texas parents who want to pick up a meal for their children at a closed school (or other location where federally subsidized meals were being served) no longer must have their children with them, under terms of a modified waiver granted Texas by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

With social distancing, shelter-in-place regulations, and the threat of a spreading virus, requiring a child to travel to the meal distribution site was deemed an unnecessary risk, state Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller said in this press release.

The feds also granted Texas another COVID-19 waiver that allows preparers of subsidized meals to not include in the meal a component that is otherwise required by law — such as a dairy, grain, protein, fruit or vegetable item — if the component isn’t available.

The Texas Department of Agriculture has posted a continuously updated list of the status of the dozens of COVID-19 related child nutrition waivers it has requested from the USDA.

Although the majority of Texas districts are providing meals for students — usually delivered curbside to parents — not all have gone smoothly.

Indefinitely Cancelled
Houston ISD, for instance, announced (March 25) that it had cancelled its curbside food pickup “indefinitely” after an individual involved in the distribution at one of its sites went under self-imposed quarantine due to potential COVID-19 exposure. The district estimated it had served nearly 40,000 families, and had distributed more than 1 million pounds of food, before the program was cancelled.

And Dallas ISD, citing a need to ensure the health and safety of its students and staff after city and county officials announced shelter-in-place mandates, announced that it will start distributing meals to families only on Thursdays of each week.

In related news, Gov. Abbott and the Texas Restaurant Association announced the creation of the Comfort Food Care Package Program that allows the public to directly purchase, from participating restaurants, meals for families in need. Each package, with enough food to feed a family of 5 to 6, will be delivered directly to the family’s home or shelter.

Internet Challenges
As Texas schools venture into becoming 100 percent distance learning enterprises, the dual issues of security and access are taking center stage.

The FBI reported (March 30) instances (none in Texas) of high schools and teachers having their teleconferencing instruction, via the Zoom platform, interrupted by hackers shouting profanity and broadcasting profane images. The FBI gives tips on how to stay connected safely.

Dallas ISD trustees voted (March 26) to buy up to 12,000 Wi-Fi hotspots, at a cost of $2.5 million, to distribute to its high school students, based on need — adding to the 12,000 hotspots paid for with donations and grants that the district had previously distributed to high school students in need.

Meanwhile, Texas media has been filled with reports of families who lack Internet access, or cannot have reliable Internet due to where they live.

Texas Rural Education Association Executive Director Bill Tarleton told ReformAustin.org (March 28) that about 20 percent of rural students in Texas don’t have Wi-Fi access at their home — and some students have to drive to their schools with their computers to sit in the parking lot to do their homework.

“We will absolutely get through it,” said Tarleton, adding: “Communities will rise up and help each other.”