CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — With roughly six weeks until the start of the school year, parents are still looking for guidance from local school districts and the state on how to keep their children protected from COVID-19.
3News reports the latest information from the Texas education agency raises more questions than answers.
The latest communique from the Texas Education Agency was titled guidelines but only offered how it was going to determine school funding and attendance between in class and online education.
That includes offering real time instruction of at least 4 hours a day called Synchronous and at the pace of the student called asynchronous.
The agency is sending more than 50 million disposable masks, 600,000 gallons of hand sanitizer and 40,000 thermometers to school districts around the state and said the numbers to each district
will be based on population.
It also said the use of any of the equipment was not mandatory.
The communique also described to school districts that attendance by students would be based on past attendance.
3News joined a teleconference this week between members of the Texas American federation of Teachers who were appalled at the lack of direction from the state
“What is going on in Texas?” Said President of American Federation of Teachers Randi Weingarten.
Randi Weingarten is the President of the American Federation of Teachers.
Weingarten along with AFT Texas President Zeph Capo voiced their concerns about the lack of support from state government and TEA in preparing to reopen public schools in August.
“Frankly I’m dismayed that the state has punted the responsibility for providing guidance on this issue.” Said Capo
“We are ill prepared at the state level without guidance from Governor Abbott to bring students back to school we need that guidance from tea so we can do what's best for our students” Said Dr. Nancy Vera President of Corpus Christi AFT.
These leaders feel that we just aren’t ready.
“Right now, the state is experiencing a very troubling level of increase in COVID-19 cases we cannot let schools become the next hot zone.” Said Capo.