Setting it Straight
A story in TEN, Nov. 16, Page 3, and a headline in the address label area on Page 4, should have stated that “hundreds” — not “thousands” of bills and resolutions had been prefiled in advance of the 87th Legislative session that begins in January. Click here for the corrected article.
COVID-19 Medical Advice
A joint letter sent by the Texas Medical Association and the Texas Pediatric Society to the state’s school board and school administrators associations says that Texas physicians have concerns about any attempt by schools to completely discontinue virtual learning and move to 100 percent on campus instruction.
The letter notes, among other things, that while children are unlikely to experience severe COVID-19 complications, they can transmit the virus to high-risk household or community members.
The letter urges districts to continue giving families the ability to choose between either in-person or virtual learning for the duration of the pandemic.
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COVID-19 School Tool
UT Austin announced (Nov. 16) a free new online tool that the university says can help families and school leaders estimate how many coronavirus-infected people are likely to show up on a school campus on any given day anywhere in the U.S.
“It’s meant to guide families, teachers and school leadership in understanding the risks of bringing students into classrooms and onto campuses. These risks are changing through time as the prevalence of the virus rises and falls in cities around the U.S.,” said Lauren Ancel Meyers, the director of the UT consortium that developed the tool.
UIL News
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The UIL has updated its COVID-19 Risk Mitigation Guidelines to be consistent with recently updated TEA guidance regarding the definition of “close contact” and when an individual can return to campus after a positive coronavirus result. (See “Health Guidance” in TEN, Nov. 16, Page 1.)
The UIL also announced it is working on arrangements that — in addition to holding the State Marching Band Championships for 2A, 4A and 6A as scheduled next month — the 2A/4A/6A state marching band contest would be held again in 2021 (along with the scheduled 1A/3A/5A state marching band contest).
The proposed change, due to many 2A/4A/6A bands opting out of competitive marching for this school year because of the pandemic, was overwhelmingly supported in a survey of superintendents of the affected conferences.
TRS Sunset Update
The planned Nov. 12 Texas Sunset Advisory Committee meeting to discuss the commission staff report on TRS that was released in April was cancelled due to what the announcement said was “circumstances related to COVID-19.”
A new date for the meeting has not been announced.