Daily News

The latest education news headlines of interest to TASB members:

March 3, 2021

• Caught by surprise, Texas education officials unsure how end of mask mandate will affect schools, Texas Tribune
• Texas schools will still require masks despite Gov. Abbott lifting COVID-19 restrictions, ABC 13 Houston
• What does the end of mask mandate mean for Texas students? Here’s what districts say, Dallas Morning News
• List: Here's what Houston-area school districts are doing with statewide mask order lifted, KHOU 11
• Texas Education Agency will issue new guidance for schools after Abbott’s statewide rollback of COVID-19 measures, KXAN Austin
• Grieder: Texas educators should be on fast track for access to COVID-19 vaccine, Houston Chronicle
• Texas teachers’ unions say Abbott’s mask mandate reversal could have ‘disastrous consequences’, KSAT
• Biden Announces Goal to Get Educators the COVID-19 Vaccine This Month, Education Week

March 2, 2021

• Poll: Texas voters strongly support teacher priority for COVID vaccine, Wichita Falls Times Record News
• Texas students can only take STAAR tests in person. These families plan to opt out, Dallas Morning News
• Survey of Estimated Disaster Remediation Costs for School Districts and Charter Schools Affected by the February 2021 Winter Storm Event, TEA
• Should Your School Be Fully Open? Here’s What the C.D.C. Says, New York Times
• Report: Children In Texas Face Higher Rates Of Hunger, Hardship Than Most Other States, KERA News.
• Watch live: Gov. Greg Abbott to make a "statewide announcement" at 1:30 p.m. Central, Texas Tribune
• Analysis: Pandemic response tops Texas voters’ legislative priorities, poll finds, Texas Tribune

March 1, 2021

• After a year of pandemic, Texas voters more open to sending kids to school, poll finds, Texas Tribune
• Texas schools still tallying storm costs, and some won't reopen soon, Texas Tribune
• Black History Month: Diversity among educators brings new perspectives to classrooms, Longview News Journal
• Texas school districts struggle to reach, help homeless students during pandemic, WFAA
• Could online schools be the future of education?, KSAT
• Analysis: Texas voters’ apprehension about COVID-19 has risen since October, poll finds, Texas Tribune
• Rural Texas communities face long recoveries and stretched budgets without federal aid, Texas Tribune

February 26, 2021

• Texas saw a historic winter storm during a pandemic: How to protect your mental health, ABC 13
• Catastrophic Texas power outages prompt finger pointing and blame shifting at legislative hearings, Texas Tribune
• With One Move, Congress Could Lift Millions Of Children Out Of Poverty, NPR
• School Is Back in Session, But School Leaders Worry About Empty Desks, NBC DFW
• Odessa, New York Times

February 25, 2021

• Schools Help Each Other Get Students Back in Classroom Despite Storm Damage, NBC DFW
• Interview with state Rep. Harold Dutton, chair of the House Public Education Committee, Texas Tribune
• Dallas ISD, other districts worry about loss of state funding due to missing students, FOX DFW
• National School Foundation Association names Spring ISD's Rodney Watson 2021 Superintendent of the Year, Community Impact
• Abbott Calls for Laws to Prevent Power Crisis Repeat, NBC DFW
• Millions Of Kids Learn English At School. Teaching Them Remotely Hasn't Been Easy, NPR
• UT-Austin won't require SAT or ACT scores for 2022 applications due to COVID-19, Texas Tribune

February 24, 2021

• Central Texas schools assess winter storm damages, announce learning plans for this week, Austin American Statesman
• Winter weather damage may keep some North Texas schools closed indefinitely, WFAA
• Sheriff Ed Gonzalez Op/Ed: Texas should maintain school funding now to prevent crime in the future, Houston Chronicle
• School Testing Can Be Delayed but Not Canceled, Feds Say, US News and World Report
• U.S. Department of Education Releases Guidance to States on Assessing Student Learning During the Pandemic, US Department of Education
• Electricity debacle has upended Texas Legislature’s agenda. Will Abbott, other GOP officials pay in 2022?, Dallas Morning News
• Watch live: Gov. Greg Abbott to deliver statewide address on winter storm response at 6 p.m. Central, Texas Tribune

February 23, 2021

• Texas Won't Require School Districts To Make Up Days Missed During Power Blackouts, Texas Public Radio
• Teachers may be more significant in the spread of COVID-19 than students, a new study reveals, Associated Press and Dallas Morning News
• Texas schools won’t have incentive to find missing students if state helps with funding, some lawmakers suggest, Dallas Morning News
• Young People Struggle To Keep Friends Close As Pandemic Pulls Them Apart, NPR
• Editorial: No debate. Congress must act now to slash childhood poverty, Houston Chronicle

February 22, 2021

• Houston suburbs work to support students online learning through pandemic, Houston Chronicle
• How are students faring amid the pandemic? Educators discover it's tough to know, Houston Chronicle
• Texas schools made huge progress in closing digital divide. Will it last?, Houston Chronicle
• Texas students slammed again as storm scrambles already chaotic school year, Texas Tribune
• ‘I hate the dark’: For Texas kids dealing with COVID-19 losses, isolation and food insecurity, the winter storm is another blow, Dallas Morning News