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.
Public Education
Explore The Texas Tribune’s coverage of public education, from K-12 schools and funding to teachers, students, and policies shaping classrooms across Texas.
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Coronavirus in Texas
Analysis: The election won’t humble the coronavirus. It’s the other way around.
When general election voting starts in two months, Texas voters will know some things they don’t know today to help them make decisions, like what actually happens when you open public schools or allow college football to proceed.
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Coronavirus in Texas
Coronavirus testing in Texas plummets as schools prepare to reopen
Texas’ low number of tests and large percentage of positive results suggest inadequacies in the state’s public health surveillance effort at a time when school reopenings are certain to increase viral spread, health experts said.
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Coronavirus in Texas
Analysis: The opening line in every Texas political debate
School openings, government hearings, going to bars, voting, shopping, even the doings at the Texas Capitol hinge on the same issues: whether it’s safe to gather, and how to go about it.
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Coronavirus in Texas
With school reopening, Gov. Greg Abbott sets off another debate over whether local or state officials are in control
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.
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Texas 2020 Elections
Analysis: Opening Texas schools is 2020’s top election issue
During a pandemic, an economic recession and public protests against racial injustice and police violence, it’s hard to say what Texas voters will be thinking about in this year’s election. Here’s a candidate: Reopening schools.
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Coronavirus in Texas
Private schools in Texas limit enrollment as they aim to reopen classrooms
Dependent on tuition money, private schools are eager to get children back into their classrooms. But they know inadequate safety measures could make them vulnerable to lawsuits.
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Coronavirus in Texas
Analysis: August agenda for local government includes schools, police spending, property taxes and a pandemic
Local governments in Texas finish their spending plans and set their tax rates in August, an annual exercise that includes some hot topics in this pandemic year, like police spending, public schools and property taxes.
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Coronavirus in Texas
Gov. Greg Abbott says local health officials can shut down schools only in limited circumstances
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.
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Coronavirus in Texas
Conservative think tank leader says schools should reopen since most Texans dying from COVID-19 are elderly or Hispanic
In an interview, Vance Ginn said the intention of his Twitter thread was to outline the more thorough data provided by the state. He also said his tweet with a GIF was “woefully taken out of context out of bad faith.”