The latest Texas Education Agency news from The Texas Tribune.
The state's first effort to publicly report coronavirus data from schools shows low statewide infection rates. Breakdowns by school districts should be reported next week. Full Story
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Spend a day with Westfield High School teacher Cris Hernandez, and you'll see the frustrations and uncertainties of virtual teaching. More than four weeks into the school year, he still can't tell if he's connecting with his students. Full Story
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In-person classes resumed at Highland Village Elementary School on Tuesday. The youngest students wore masks printed with pepperoni pizza and Polly Pocket, adjusting to new safety protocols. Full Story
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As students across Texas return to schools for in-person classes, there will be masks, distancing and lunches eaten at desks. Many students will remain at home, joining in on laptops and phones. Full Story
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The letter comes two weeks after a federal judge blocked the Barbers Hill Independent School District from keeping a dress code policy that advocates have called racist. Full Story
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Coronavirus cases are inevitable as Texas schools reopen. The challenge for administrators will be preventing large-scale outbreaks. Full Story
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One Central Texas superintendent estimated that up to 7,000 students in his district struggled to access virtual learning, and new iPads are not likely to arrive before October. In South Texas, students share computers, phones and spotty internet with siblings. Full Story
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Starting Sept. 8, Texas education officials will require all school districts to fill out forms weekly reporting new cases, including whether the infections occurred on or off campus and if the campus closed as a result. Full Story
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Without numbers on how many children or staff are in Texas child care facilities — which the state does not report — it’s hard to gauge the magnitude of infections. Full Story
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The data will be posted on a state website and the reporting process will be finalized after input from school superintendents. Full Story
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In a state where an estimated 30% of the state's 5.5 million public school students don't have the right technology for online learning, switching to virtual classrooms is daunting. And expensive. Full Story
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Public schools are about to become the next front line in a state struggling to control the coronavirus pandemic. Here's what it's like on the ground at four of them. Full Story
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Abbott’s decision to curb the role of local health authorities in school reopening decisions has added to the ongoing conflict between him and local governments during the pandemic, with mayors and judges voicing frustration over having their hands tied by the state’s response. Full Story
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Abbott said local health authorities can't shut down in-person instruction before school starts, but an outbreak on campus once students have arrived could prompt a closure. Full Story
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Texas schools employ almost as many support staff members as they do teachers, often in hourly or part-time jobs with low pay. The state has offered limited guidance on how to protect them on the job. Full Story
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Gov. Greg Abbott has yet to formally announce a definitive plan for reopening Texas schools safely, but two actions Tuesday effectively force districts to have students back in classrooms after eight weeks of the school year's start. Full Story
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Gov. Greg Abbott said Monday that Texas students must take the state standardized test next spring, but fifth and eighth graders can graduate without passing it. Full Story
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With the safe reopening of schools this fall in doubt, parents with the resources are setting up "learning pods" or seeking other options. But the do-it-yourself approach to education threatens to leave behind students of color and poorer families. Full Story
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Darcy Vogt Williams says districts want flexibility deciding how and when to start the new school year, given the pandemic. Listen in the weekend edition of The Brief podcast. Full Story
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Facing backlash from educators, parents and public health officials, the Texas Education Agency is giving schools more time before they must resume teaching students in person and allowing districts hard hit by the coronavirus to seek waivers. Full Story
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