TEXAS, USA — The Texas Education Agency and the Department of State Health Services announced a new collaborative tracking system that will help monitor and report confirmed coronavirus cases in public schools across Texas.
Officials with TEA said school systems will report cases to DSHS, and DSHS will publicly report data on cases and outbreaks in schools starting in September.
TEA Commissioner Mike Morath made the announcement during a phone call with state superintendents Thursday afternoon. All of the data will be collected and placed online for parents and the public to check out.
Statement from TEA:
“Data on the number of cases in schools is of paramount interest to parents, students, teachers, staff, public health experts, policymakers, and the larger community. This information will be submitted to DSHS any time there is a positive case in a campus community. TEA is collaborating with superintendents on the reporting process and will finalize it in the coming days. As a result, it’s important to note that this data collection effort will be updated based on the input received from Texas school districts.
“Having this knowledge and being able to publicly share the accumulated case totals from schools in a single place covering the entire state of Texas will help us to further support the health and safety of all Texans.”
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