TEA Lists Requirements for Graduations
The TEA issued (May 5) a four-option list of allowable coronavirus-mindful solutions for districts in holding their 2020 graduation ceremonies.
- Update: Click here for updated detailed graduation requirements posted by the TEA on May 7 that includes changes to the previously announced start dates for allowable outdoor graduation ceremonies (see "Note" below) and gives additional guidance for hybrid virtual/in-person ceremonies.
Although the options were listed as “guidance” on a TEA press release, they were labeled as “requirements” in an accompanying five-page document that provides more details about each of the options.
The guidance/requirements for graduation ceremonies were briefly discussed by Education Commissioner Mike Morath during a May 5 press conference by the governor, who announced the reopening dates for additional businesses, including personal care salons, gyms, etc.
Districts that precisely follow the updated TEA guidelines and governor’s executive orders in holding their graduation ceremonies do not need additional approval from the TEA — and the agency advises that “…each district is at liberty to determine if any of these options best serve the needs and desires of their community.”
Four Options
The first three options include holding:
1) completely virtual ceremonies,
2) hybrid virtual/in-person ceremonies and
3) “vehicle” ceremonies.
- Note: The TEA's updated guidance changes the fourth option to allow outdoor in-person ceremonies to occur anytime from May 15 to May 28 in rural counties meeting specific criteria — and allows all districts to hold outdoor ceremonies on or after May 29.
The guidance details instructions on ensuring the safety of everyone.
A spot check by TEN of plans by school districts across Texas prior to the release of the TEA’s guidance reflect that all are already in compliance with the TEA’s guidance.
Families of students graduating from Denton County school districts, for instance, will be able to view the graduation ceremonies taking place inside the Texas Motor Speedway via a gigantic screen visible from the race track’s parking lot, where the families will remain in their cars.
Gatesville ISD has enlisted a local drive-in theater to show families prerecorded videos of seniors getting their diplomas, the commencement addresses and awards.
Several districts reported tentative plans to hold in-person ceremonies in August.
In Other Coronavirus-related news:
“EOY” and “BOY” assessments
With the cancellation of STAAR testing for this school year, the TEA provided (on April 28 and updated on May 7) details on the upcoming availability of optional end-of-year (EOY) tests to assess student learning levels as this most unusual school year draws to a close.
The EOY assessments will be available by May 11, and can be administered to students until June 12. The tests will be available in paper and online form (with online the suggested format) — and students can take the test at home via the Internet. There’s a May 29 deadline for parents and districts to register for the test.
The TEA cautions that the assessments are to be used for student diagnostic purposes only, and are not to be used for accountability, staff evaluations, etc.
Meanwhile, the TEA says more info will be released this summer about the new optional beginning-of-year (BOY) tests to assess where students are academically at the beginning of next school year.
See also this comprehensive summary about the EOY initiative posted by the Texas Classroom Teachers Association.
UIL Action
The rule-making UIL Legislative Council met (webcast) virtually (May 1) to adopt a resolution giving league Executive Director Charles Breithaupt broad decision and rule-making/revision authority on issues related to the coronavirus pandemic until Sept. 1, 2020, unless rescinded earlier by the council.
All UIL-related activities — practices, competitions and contests, etc. — continue to be cancelled for the remainder of this school year.
UIL Deputy Director Jamey Harrison said that he expects to see some significant alterations to athletic coaching restrictions during the summer and fall as the new school year approaches, to allow students and coaches to make up as much missed time as possible.
But Breithaupt added that the league won’t allow any practices to start this summer “until we see that the National Football League, college football, the NBA, Major League Baseball, any of the pro sports …” resume play.
Breithaupt said a major focus is planning for various contingencies that might arise for the 2020-21 school year — plans that include factoring in delayed school starts and the possibility that schools might start up, only to have to abruptly shut down again.
The council also approved easing requirements for medical physicals for students participating in UIL junior high and high school athletics (and high school marching band) for School Year 2020-21 only — due to the difficulty students and districts might have in scheduling physicals because of the COVID-19 crisis (see TEN, May 4).
Cypress-Fairbanks ISD Superintendent Mark Henry announced that the next regularly scheduled council meeting is still set for June 16, in a format to be determined.
School Start Speculation
With the end of the 2019-20 school year nearing, there’s been much speculation about next school year. The TEA recently offered a few scenarios, depending on conditions:
-- Start school in August as normal.
-- Start in August with some restrictions in place.
-- Start in August with restrictions and campus “micro-closures” (3-5 days at a time) as needed.
-- Don’t start in-person instruction until January.
Dallas ISD Superintendent Michael Hinojosa during a press conference (May 4) labeled as “highly doubtful” the idea that schools will open in August as normal, and said that it’s “highly likely” DISD could operate under a “blended learning” plan whereby students are on campus during certain days of the week and at home on the other days of the week.
“A lot of it is going to depend on where the state has us, where the health officials have us, where the governor has us,” Hinojosa said.
Quipped Northside ISD (Bexar County) Superintendent Brian Woods to the Texas Tribune about the chances that schools will open in August: “I have no idea. Somewhere between 0 and 100 percent.”
Alternative-Ed Programs
The Houston Chronicle reported (April 28) that several student advocacy and disability rights groups — including the University of Houston’s Juvenile and Children’s Advocacy Project — sent letters to Houston-area school districts regarding students who were assigned to disciplinary alternative education programs before their schools closed due to the pandemic.
The letters ask that these students not be required to finish out their remaining time in DAEP assignments once schools reopen, but instead be given credit for the time they were engaged in distance learning this school year.
A spokesperson for one of the groups said that students sent to alternative schools are at-risk and were already struggling in school, and are the kids who are going to need the most when they get back to traditional classrooms.
The TEA leaves it up to districts to decide whether a DAEP-assigned student must finish out the remainder of time in a DAEP instead of going back to the student’s home campus once schools reopen, the Chronicle noted.