June 29-July 2
State Board of Education Meeting Highlights
Part 1

For Upcoming School Year
Morath: No More Skipping the STAAR

The pandemic won’t stop the STAAR from being administered next school year, Education Commissioner Mike Morath told SBOE members (June 30).
  • Note: View the webcast of the commissioner’s comments here (click Item 1). Click here for SBOE info.

The overall theme of the commissioner’s remarks that were devoted primarily to the pandemic was that students need to get back on track next school year to reverse what he called the COVID-Slide.

“We cannot allow this public health crisis to become a generational educational crisis,” the commissioner said.

Lack of Hard Data
The commissioner said the lack of “normal” hard data about the effects of the COVID-Slide that resulted from the sudden closure of all Texas schools in mid-March means that policy makers, school boards, parents, etc., are “blind” to where students are academically.

That’s why it’s important, Morath said, for STAAR testing, which was cancelled for the Spring 2020 round of testing to resume for the 2020-21 school year.

Morath noted the agency’s June 16 announcement of STAAR 2020-21 testing dates includes expanded dates for administering onlne versions of the exams.

Morath pointed to data reflecting that students who meet grade level expectations on the STAAR have a 60 percent chance of being proficient in the next class, and students who show mastery of grade level expectations on the STAAR have a 70 percent chance of being proficient in the next grade level.

No Way to Measure Growth
Plans are also being made to expand online administration options, Morath said, adding that the state’s 2020-21 district/campus accountability systems will also have to be revised because there will be no way to measure growth from the just concluded school year.

In the absence of hard data of where students are academically, Morath referred to the results of the online ZEARN math course system in use by many Texas schools districts that reflected the academic progress of students from lower-income zip codes dropped off precipitously after schools abruptly closed, and less so for students in middle-income zip codes, while students from higher-income zip codes didn’t see any change whatsoever.

Student “Engagement” Data

  • Note: In conjunction with the commissioner’s comments, the TEA released (June 30) the preliminary results of data submitted to the TEA by charters and ISDs reflecting the degree to which a student was “engaged” as of the final day of the school year — such as whether students had been completing their assignments, were contacted by the teacher, etc.

    The report found that about 11.3 percent of the overall student population was not fully engaged. Student subgroups who were not fully engaged: 1) 13.3 percent Hispanic, 2) 16.9 percent Black, 3) 4.24 percent Asian, 4) 6.35 percent White, and 5) 15.5 percent economically disadvantaged.

    Schools have until July 16 to submit final data.


As Many As Possible — As Quickly as Possible
Morath stressed that it is essential to get as many children back in school as possible and as quickly as possible, but he added that he understands that it may not be safe for some children to return to school.

And, Morath added that he also knows that parents may want their children to remain at home to avoid becoming compromised and in turn spread infections to at-risk members of their households, especially to elderly family members.

But, on the whole, the risk of coronavirus infection and transmission in children, especially younger children, is much lower than for adults,
Morath said.

This led to questioning by Ruben Cortez Jr.,D-Brownsville and Aicha Davis, D-Dallas, to collectively ask about the risks to staff members, including staff who are in high risk groups, such as older staff and employees who have asthma or are pregnant.

Terrified
Cortez, who also chairs the board of Region 1 (Edinburg) Education Service Center, said that he has heard from countless school employees who say they are terrified of going back to school and getting coronavirus.

Morath responded by referring to the recent announcement (see TEN, June 22) that the state will supply, at no cost, massive amounts of personal protective equipment (PPE) to schools, and noted that the TEA has provided suggestions for ensuring the health and safety of students, staff and visitors to schools.

But, Morath added that it will be largely up to school districts to ensure the safety of staff, and there won’t be any special funding set aside for this purpose.

Turning to related issues, Morath noted that the state’s decision to use the $1.29 billion in federal CARES Act funding to Texas schools to supplant (replace), rather than supplement (add to) state funding for schools will mean that Texas will be one of the few states that will likely not have to cut their funding to schools due to the pandemic. See Coronavirus News in this issue.

Morath reminded the board that the Legislature, in 2019, dedicated a significant increase in funding to schools.

He also noted that a different CARES Act funding pool reimburses districts for 75 percent of their pandemic-related expenses incurred through May 20. This money can be used to supplement, rather than supplant, eligible coronavirus-related costs, Morath said.

Morath also outlined the recently announced attendance-based funding options for districts offering remote instruction (see TEN, June 29): 1) synchronous (real time) remote instruction and 2) asynchronous (not real time) instruction or 3) a blended version of both.

Synchronous: Only for Grades 3 to 12
In response to questioning by board members, Morath said there are a variety of reasons why synchronous remote attendance funding is only available for grades 3 to 12, while asynchronous remote funding is available for all grades.

Among other things, Morath said that the Texas Virtual School Network is only for grades 3-12, and noted there are concerns over expecting younger students to be in front of a screen for seven hours, as they would be expected to do for synchronous remote instruction.

Morath also highlighted several other state initiatives, including a governor’s task force to identify funding for broadband and digital costs, and to find ways to quickly provide Internet services to areas of the state that lack them.

Those ideas could range from providing Internet hotspots to using weather balloons to deliver Internet services.

Morath did not say when the TEA would issue its long awaited final requirements for schools in opening next school year.