Coronavirus News
Over District’s In-Person Staff Training Mandate
Texas ISD Wins a COVID-19 Legal Battle
It took less than 48 hours for a Texas ISD to be sued over a pandemic-related dispute and for a judge to rule against the district — and for the Texas Supreme Court (TSC) to hand the ISD a legal victory.
The dispute that pitted the Houston-area, 116,000-student Cypress-Fairbanks ISD and the Texas AFT’s local CFISD affiliate (Cy-Fair AFT) is believed to be the first COVID-19 litigation to be filed against a Texas school district.
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Other Coronavirus News
Tech Shortages Predicted
Houston’s KHOU-TV reported (Aug. 14) that a “Texas-sized demand” for computer devices combined with a global supply chain setback will mean school districts may have to wait up to 10 weeks before state-supplied devices are in the hands of students who need them.
Texas school districts requested 1 million devices from the state, plus another 480,000 Wi-Fi hotspots, Gabby Rowe, project director for the statewide Operation Connectivity initiative (info here and here) told the TV station, adding:
“I wish we could all go on Amazon and hit a button and have it all show up.” The Operation Connectivity initiative is being funded in large part by a $200 million federal CARES Act grant.
In related school-tech news, the TEA and UT Austin jointly announced (Aug. 13) a partnership with UT’s OnRamps program for professional development to assist teachers of students in grades 5 to 12 who will receive instruction partially or entirely in virtual settings.
UIL Football Broadcasts
The UIL posted (Aug. 13) detailed rules to implement the league’s previously announced intent to allow, for the first time, unrestricted live televised broadcasts and webstreams of regular season Friday night football games as a response to pandemic-rooted likely declines in fans attending the games. Schools are, for instance, required to limit stadium spectator attendance to no more than 50 percent of capacity.
The rules, to be in effect for the 2020 season only, ban announcers from making disparaging remarks about officials, prohibit ads for items such as alcohol, tobacco products, gambling, sexual services, etc. — and forbid announcers from mentioning injuries, “preventable” accidents or other incidents that may cause anxiety on the part of viewers.
The competing schools will have to mutually agree if, and how, the live telecasting/webcasting will occur.
Webcasts only — no telecasts — are allowed for Friday, Sept. 25 games, the date reportedly reserved by Fox Sports Southwest to broadcast selected games under the network’s agreement with the UIL.