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TOPLINE
Public school students in Texas will return to class starting in mid-August, Gov. Greg Abbott told lawmakers Thursday, even as the numbers of confirmed Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations continue to break records daily.
Texas public schools will be opened for in-person instruction for the upcoming school year, state … [+]
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KEY FACTS
School districts will not be required to make students wear face masks or test them for Covid-19, a spokesperson for the Texas Education Agency told The Texas Tribune, but the agency will release further guidance next week.
Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath claimed it will be safe for students to return to class then, but that the state will allow flexibility for families who wish to keep their children at home because of health concerns.
Meanwhile, Texas marked the seventh straight day of new records for the number of Covid-19 patients in hospitals, which hit 2,947 on Thursday.
Upwards of 2,600 new Covid-19 cases were reported statewide on Tuesday, followed by more than 3,000 on Wednesday, both record highs.
Abbott has been open about his intentions for students to be back in-person for class by the start of the 2020-21 school year.
Demoratic state Rep. Gina Hinojosa, who said she was on Thursday’s call in which Abbott announced the plan for reopening schools, expressed dismay at the decision and told her Facebook followers, “it is completely premature to make this determination now. We can’t put all kids back in classrooms without a handle on the spread of this virus.”
KEY BACKGROUND
Nearly 5.5 million students were enrolled in Texas public schools in 2019. A nationwide poll on Thursday suggested that while many parents are still wary of sending their children back to school during the pandemic, just more than half are in favor of in-person, full-time instruction this fall. Other states remain largely undecided as to whether to fully open public schools for the start of the new school year. It’s still unclear if Texas families opting for remote learning could jeopardize state public school funding, which is in part determined by attendance. More than 96,000 Texans have tested positive for Covid-19 and upwards of 2,000 have died, according to state data.
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