Daily News

The latest education news headlines of interest to TASB members:

September 23, 2020

• As Schools Go Remote, Finding ‘Lost’ Students Gets Harder, New York Times
• Students lost in the virtual learning shuffle? This school district comes to find them, KXAN
• More than 80 Texas lawmakers sign open letter to Governor Abbott for a statewide broadband plan, My High Plains
• Coronavirus to be 3rd-leading killer in Travis County this year, health authority says, Austin American Statesman

September 22, 2020

• What We Know About Coronavirus Cases in K-12 Schools So Far, New York Times
• Texas has changed how it calculates COVID-19 positivity rates, so what does that mean?, Dallas Morning News
• How schools are finding thousands of students they couldn’t reach when the pandemic began, KXAN Austin

September 21, 2020

• LIST: Local school districts cancel in-person, virtual learning ahead of Beta, Click 2 Houston
• Texas needs more poll workers this year because of the pandemic. Here's how to become one, Texas Tribune
• Substitute teachers take new roles on Central Texas campuses, Austin American Statesman
• 'They miss their teachers and we miss them, as well' | Aldine ISD takes school spirit to students' homes, KHOU 11
• How do teachers connect with students during changing classroom needs during a pandemic? Dallas Morning News
• Op/Ed: Essay: ‘You Can’t Hug a Laptop’: Grieving in a socially distant world, Houston Chronicle
• What Ruth Bader Ginsburg Meant to Education, Education Week

September 18, 2020

• Coronavirus (COVID-19) Support and Guidance, TEA
• 0.21% of Texas students test positive for coronavirus after returning to classrooms, Austin American-Statesman
• State releases numbers showing low Texas public school infection rates, but the data is limited, Texas Tribune

September 17, 2020

• Texas school nurses: How they are navigating the pandemic, KVUE
• Schools Dealing with Substitute Teacher Shortage, NBC DFW
• New COVID-19 tracker pinpoints which Texas schools have positive cases, CBS Austin
• New voter registrations plummeted during the pandemic in Texas, where you can’t register online, Texas Tribune
• How years of underfunding public health left Texas ill prepared for the pandemic, Texas Tribune
• Share of positive COVID-19 cases as Texas reopened was higher than originally reported, new state calculations show, Texas Tribune

September 16, 2020

• ABC13 hosts town hall on educational inequality for Hispanic students, ABC 13 Houston
• Texas Supreme Court again blocks Harris County from sending mail-in ballot applications to all voters, Texas Tribune
• Contact tracing guidelines Southeast Texas school districts follow to determine which students must quarantine, 12 News Now
• Travis County children, teenagers ages 10-19 account for recent upswing in coronavirus cases, Community Impact

September 15, 2020

• Here’s your Texas 2020 November ballot, Texas Tribune
• SA’s three largest school districts report drops in enrollment, KSAT
• See how Houston-area school districts compare with in-person, virtual learning participation, Community Impact

September 14, 2020

• Lawmakers call on Gov. Greg Abbott to plan to expand broadband access as pandemic worsens disparities, Texas Tribune
• Texas schools seeing steep declines in number of students getting free meals, Texas Tribune
• Analysis: Elections are fights, settled by voters. This one is no exception, Texas Tribune
• HISD board approves request for online-only classes on Election Day, Houston Chronicle
• Texas' most populous county sending mail-in ballot applications to millions of registered voters, Texas Tribune

September 11, 2020

• Texas schools seeing steep declines in number of students getting free meals, Texas Tribune
• Dallas ISD rolls out a new plan for returning to campuses during the coronavirus pandemic, Dallas Morning News
• Teachers Union Launches Crowd-Sourced COVID-19 Tracker, NBC DFW
• Houston ISD enrollment down 16% as it marks end of first week of school, Community Impact
• Spotty virus tracking in schools is leaving millions in the dark on infection rates, Politico
• HISD board approves request for online-only classes on Election Day, Houston Chronicle
• Federal appeals court rejects Texas Democrats' effort to expand voting by mail, Texas Tribune

September 10, 2020

• TASA Names Six Finalists for 2021 Texas Teacher of the Year, TASA
• In 2020, voting rights are on the ballot, Washington Post
• Thousands of Houston-area school children still need at-home tech as online classes ramp up, Houston Chronicle
• HISD struggling to keep track of attendance during virtual learning, ABC 13 Houston
• Texas teachers union launches COVID-19 website to track cases in schools, KXAN Austin

September 9, 2020

• Ventilation expert reveals how Texas schools can stop the spread of COVID in classrooms, Houston Chronicle
• Thousands of students head back to Houston-area classrooms Tuesday for first time since March, Houston Chronicle
• Texas ordered to immediately fix flaws in method used to reject some mail-in ballots, Texas Tribune
• Federal judge dismisses lawsuit that sought sweeping changes to Texas' in-person voting rules, Texas Tribune
• With colorful masks and many new rules, Mrs. Hogan’s “honeybees” arrive for kindergarten, Texas Tribune

September 8, 2020

• Texas Public Schools will begin reporting COVID cases Sept. 8, KENS5 San Antonio
• Many Texas students will return to classrooms Tuesday. Little will be normal, Texas Tribune
• School starts Tuesday for North Texas’s largest school districts, WFAA Dallas
• Judge temporarily halts efforts to end census count early, Texas Tribune
• As students return to virtual class, Austin ISD superintendent says district will have to be nimble this fall, Community Impact

September 4, 2020

• TEA distributes $40 million to Texas school districts in order to help recruit, retain effective teachers, KXAN Austin
• TEA Launches First Set of Innovative Learning Solutions for K-12 Math to Support Schools Across Texas, TEA
• Some Texas teachers are getting the biggest pay hikes of their careers. Here’s how, Houston Chronicle
• DFW schools to receive nearly $3 million to support Hispanic, under-represented students, Fort Worth Business Press

September 3, 2020

• Defenders: Increase in retirements, resignations leads to hundreds of school job openings, KVUE Austin
• Klein ISD students, teachers take part in simulation school day, Click 2 Houston
• Special Education Monitoring Resources for Parents, Families, and Care-Givers, TEA 
• Are your children enrolled in virtual learning? Try these at-home PE and recess ideas, WFAA
• Dallas ISD Offers Mental Health Services For Students And Parents, CBS DFW

September 2, 2020

• How to find out if someone at your kid's school has COVID-19 in Texas, KHOU 11 Houston
• Houston ISD considering online-only classes on Election Day, Houston Chronicle
• Gov. Abbott hints at further reopening Texas, with ‘next steps’ next week, Houston Chronicle
• Absent widespread testing, Texas schools have limited tools to prevent coronavirus spread, Texas Tribune
• UIL threatens sanctions if school districts and their fans don’t follow COVID-19 guidelines, Dallas Morning News

September 1, 2020

• As the school year begins online, thousands of Texas students are being left out of virtual learning, Texas Tribune
• HISD parents question online learning due to digital divide, ABC 13 Houston
• Keller ISD sends home 145 fifth-graders after multiple employees test positive | Here are all the COVID-19 cases at local schools, KENS5
• Dozens of Houston area campuses don't have a school nurse, ABC 13 Houston
• Texas sues Harris County to stop it from sending all voters applications for mail-in ballots, Texas Tribune

August 31, 2020

• ‘Herculean’ task: San Antonio area schools still working to get every student online, San Antonio Express News
• Here's How Education In Texas Looks As Public Schools Begin Reopening With Mostly Online Classes, Texas Public Radio
• For second time, federal judge finds Texas is violating voter registration law, Texas Tribune
• "We're all holding our breath": Health experts on school reopenings in Texas, Texas Tribune
• Fort Worth’s school district wanted to make online classes better. Here’s what it did, Fort Worth Star Telegram
• School nurses at front line of coronavirus fight, but are there enough of them?, Austin American Statesman

August 28, 2020

• Texas schools must file weekly reports with state on COVID-19 cases, Texas Tribune
• 2020-2021 COVID-19 Public School Case Reporting, TEA
• Updated August 27: SY 20-21 School Board FAQ, TEA
• Some schools reopening Friday after Hurricane Laura spares Houston area, KHOU11
• Special education students lost crucial help when the pandemic hit. Texas schools are still struggling to restore it, Texas Tribune
• Court: School transgender bathroom policy unconstitutional, Associated Press

August 27, 2020

• Legislature sidelined as three Texas GOP leaders steer $1B in budget cuts, San Antonio Express News
• Texas teachers could see double-digit raises under program to retain top performers, Fox News
• SCHOOL CLOSURES: All the Houston-area schools, districts and colleges that will be closed because of Laura, Click 2 Houston
• Second Judge Blocks DeVos' Virus Relief Rule, Calls Her Reasoning 'Jiggery-Pokery', Education Week
• Before the Bell: Simple tips for parents to help kids with at-home learning, WFAA Dallas
• Here's how Dallas-Fort Worth area districts are handling substitute teachers during the pandemic, WFAA Dallas

August 26, 2020

• Here's how education in Texas looks as public schools begin reopening with mostly online classes, Texas Tribune
• Abbott declares disaster in 36 more Texas counties as Hurricane Laura approaches, Houston Chronicle
• Whether it's hurricanes or COVID-19, disasters are driving a mental health crisis, Texas Tribune
• Texas high school football prepares for smaller crowds, Houston Chronicle
• Analysis: Those aren’t just COVID-19 numbers. They’re Texans, Texas Tribune
• Reopening Schools Quickly Could Lead to Remote Learning for All of 2020-21, US News and World Report

August 25, 2020

• Texas Association of School Boards discusses how school districts are dealing with COVID-19 exposures, KBTX
• 'Felt like home again': Humble, Lamar become first large Houston districts to host in-person classes, Houston Chronicle
• Can learning through a computer screen have long lasting effects on students?, CBS 4 El Paso
• Teachers: We're here to support and cheer you on, Galveston County Daily News
• Carroll ISD unveils dashboard to keep track of COVID-19 in the district, Fox 4 KDFW

August 24, 2020

• Several Southeast Texas districts cancel, postpone start of school ahead of Hurricane Marco, Laura, 12 News Now Beaumont
• Texas Education Agency announces new COVID-19 tracking system for public schools, ABC 13 Houston
• State agencies announce plans to track COVID-19 cases at Texas public schools, Dallas Morning News
• Dallas mother creates Facebook group to help make virtual learning easier for parents, students, Fox 4 KDFW
• Parents 'adopt teachers' as way to show support during pandemic, ABC Houston

August 21, 2020

• Texas announces new coronavirus reporting rules for schools, Austin American Statesman
• Texas will start posting coronavirus case data from public schools, education commissioner says, KSAT San Antonio
• Governor Abbott Announces Procurement Of Over 1 Million Devices, WiFi Hotspots Through Operation Connectivity, Office of the Texas Governor 
• State obtains over 1 million connectivity devices for public schools, KTRE
• Virtual learning sputters to a halt in schools across North Texas after hardware crash at regional hub, Dallas Morning News

August 20, 2020

• In Texas, USPS woes and state deadlines could leave voters without enough time to return mail-in ballots, Texas Tribune
• HISD won't mark students absent if their work is completed before 11:59, Houston Chronicle
• First day of school quiet, but full of (virtual) excitement and energy, Austin American Statesman
• H-E-B thanks educators with a free school supply discount coupon, Houston Chronicle
• Confusion surrounds how 3 largest San Antonio school districts will report positive COVID-19 cases, KSAT San Antonio

August 19, 2020

• First coronavirus case reported in Central Texas school, Austin American Statesman
• Houston-area schools with students and/or staff that have tested positive for COVID-19, Houston Chronicle
• 10 school districts push back on Harris Co. back to school plan, ABC 13 Houston Chronicle
• Judge rules Barbers Hill ISD’s dress code discriminatory after 2 Black students suspended over length of dreadlocks, Click 2 Houston
• The lessons San Antonio teachers, parents learned during remote learning in spring during coronavirus pandemic, San Antonio Express News