ABILENE, TX — The Texas State Teachers Association said the state must not allow schools to open before Sept. 8.
“With a pandemic still raging across Texas, the Texas State Teachers Association demands that the state prohibit any school district from beginning classes, in-person or remotely, before Sept. 8,” said TSTA President Ovidia Molina.
Abilene ISD is scheduled to start Aug. 20. But Superintendent Dr. David Young is recommending the school board delay it until Aug. 24 to give teachers more time to get ready.
Wylie ISD is scheduled to start Aug. 19.
After Sept. 8, Molina dais districts should be allowed to reopen buildings to in-person instruction only after consulting with local health authorities, teachers, other school employees and parents and with strict safety standards enforced.
“Districts that choose to provide only online instruction must not be penalized with a loss of state funding,” said Molina. “If they really want to put the health and safety of students and educators first, this is what the governor and TEA will do, not impose artificial limits on online learning and financial penalties on districts.”
KTXS reached out to both Abilene ISD and Wylie ISD for comment.
AISD STATEMENT
“We certainly appreciate our teachers and staff and the work they do every day for the children entrusted to the AISD. We all saw last spring during the shutdown what an incredible staff we have throughout the district.
“We have been in constant communication with our local medical and health professionals and believe that our plan to reopen schools next month is in line with their recommendations. We believe that if our students and staff follow the guidelines that we will release before Monday, we will be doing our best to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 on our campuses.
“The general consensus among health professionals is that our children need to be back in school, and our plan is to welcome them back either in person or virtually in August.”
No word yet from Wylie ISD.
