Coronavirus Update

TEA’s School Opening Guidelines
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The TEA released (July 7) its long awaited guidance on the reopening of schools for the upcoming school year as the state continued to set daily records in the number of Texans testing positive for, being hospitalized for — and dying of — coronavirus.

The TEA’s release of the final guidelines came on the same day that the Trump administration launched a coordinated campaign to put pressure on the nation’s governors and educators to open their schools in the fall, no matter how bad pandemic conditions might be.

Nine Pages
The TEA’s nine-page School Year 2020-21 Public Health Planning Guidance document provides for, among other things, that:
  • Daily, on-campus learning will be available to all parents who would like their students to be in school each school day — with parents having the option to choose remote learning initially, or at any point as the year progresses.

  • Districts have the option to establish a phased-in return to on-campus instruction for up to the first three weeks of the school year, to ensure all appropriate health and safety procedures are fully in place.

  • Certain health procedures will be mandated for every school — such as requiring teachers and staff to self-screen before coming onto campus each day. The guidance specifies protocols for various scenarios resulting from the testing or exposure to the virus.

  • Schools will receive, or have received, a number of free resources — including personal protective equipment (PPE), online TEKS-aligned learning tools and virtual teacher training.

  • Schools must adhere to the governor’s executive orders that are effective now, or issued anytime in the future.

Masks
The guidance specifically references the governor’s July 2 executive order requiring Texans in counties with more than 20 positive COVID-19 cases to wear masks or face shields in public places — with a handful of exceptions (including for children under 10 or while consuming food and drink, or while sitting at an outdoor restaurant).

One of the questions raised was whether the governor would issue a revised proclamation to also require children under 10 to wear masks at school.

Mixed Reactions
Reactions to the agency’s guidance varied.

The chairs of the respective legislative committees with public education oversight — the House’s Dan Huberty, R-Kingwood, and the Senate’s Larry Taylor, R-Friends-wood, immediately issued a joint statement praising the guidelines because they will ensure that “our children are able to return to the classroom in a responsible, safe, and healthy way” — “while allowing each school district the freedom and flexibility to operate in the best way for their local communities.”
Teacher groups were not impressed — with most criticizing the apparent lack of meaningful input by parents, teachers and other staff into the final guidelines.

“Intentionally or Recklessly”
The Texas AFT doubled down on its “Hell No!” comments it issued previously when draft guidance was inadvertently posted by the TEA — and accused the agency of “acting intentionally or recklessly with gross negligence” by issuing guidance that does not take into account the fact that much of Texas is experiencing a substantial spread of the virus.

The union also said the TEA needs to abandon, or at least put into context, its message contained in the guidelines that returning to campuses at this point will be safe because “relatively few children with COVID-19 are hospitalized or have severe symptoms.”

The problem with this stance is that it still puts adults – our school employees, parents, and the overall community at significant risk – while also ignoring the enormity of the numbers of students and adults returning to school.

The Texas Classroom Teachers Association said it was “alarmed” by the insistence by officials at all levels of government that schools should open for in-person instruction next month, while the rates of COVID-19 infection are surging in many parts of Texas.

The Association of Texas Professional Educators said it was frustrated that the agency’s guidance was only a minimum, and called on the agency to provide more explicit guidance — and complained that the guidance was created without involving educators and parents.
“Too many questions are left unanswered in the TEA’s guidelines,” the association said in a statement.

The Texas State Teachers Association expressed similar concerns.

Other Coronavirus News
  • UIL Update — The UIL released updated guidance (July 7) for summer athletic activities and marching band practice to reflect the governor’s July 2 executive order. The guidance includes requirements for face shields or masks, and the screening of staff, visitors and students — among other provisions. The league previously recommended, but did not require, that these athletic and marching band activities be cancelled until July 13.

  • Economic measure — Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced (July 1) that state sales tax revenue (an indicator of the health of the state’s economy) totaled $2.67 billion in June, 6.5 percent less than in June 2019. “The decline in state sales tax collections was driven principally by steep drops in remittances from oil- and gas-related sectors,” Hegar said.

  • Changed plans — The Texas High School Coaches Association (THSCA) abruptly canceled its plans for an in-person convention that was to be held in July, and quickly switched to a virtual format.

    The cancellation of the THSCA’s convention, with a projected attendance of 5,000, was expected to deliver a $7.8 million blow to the San Antonio economy.

    The Texas Girls Coaches Association’s plans to hold its summer coaching clinics in Arlington — expected to draw 500 — was also canceled shortly before it was to be held, and was replaced with virtual sessions.

    And, don’t plan on attending the State Fair of Texas in the fall — it was canceled as well. But the fate of the Texas/OU football game, traditionally held at the Cotton Bowl during the fair, is in limbo. One suggestion being floated is to have the game without spectators.

  • College news — Many Texas colleges (and their counterparts nationally) were re-evaluating plans to offer online-only instruction for the upcoming academic year in light of the unexpected announcement (July 6) by the Trump administration that foreign students attending U.S. colleges may not remain in the U.S. if they are taking courses at colleges offering only online courses. The requirement was announced by the Student Exchange Visitor Program division of Homeland Security.