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

more news...

Available in the Policy Service Resource Library:

• New Policy Development Tips that give practical legal advice about policy topics that affect school districts.
• Policy Manual Update Resources for Update 116, including Local Policy Overview and Legal Issues memo.
• Update 116 to the Policy Reference Manual, including annotated versions of the Legal policies in recent Updates.
• Update 62 of the Regulations Resource Manual, including sample administrative procedures and forms that correlate with Update 116.

Visit our Frequently Asked Questions or call us at 800.580.7529 if you have any questions.

Coming soon:

• A new version of the Model Student Handbook will be available in May.
• A new version of the Model Student Code of Conduct will be available by the end of July.
• The Annual Review of Key Policies and Employee Notification Policy Alerts for the 2021-22 school year will be available in July.

For more, see Policy Service’s Publication Information page.

• TASB Legal Services' article Responding to the Risk of Infectious Disease in Public Schools (pdf) addresses questions regarding communications, health screening, attendance, and employment matters in times of infectious disease, like Ebola, coronavirus, or pandemic flu.
• TASB Legal Services' Deadlines for May 1, 2021 School District Trustee Elections (pdf) provides important dates and deadlines applicable to school districts preparing for the May 1, 2021 trustee election.
• TASB Legal Services' School District Budget and Tax Rate Adoption in 2020 (pdf) is a step-by-step guide to budget and tax rate adoption for school districts.
• TASB Legal Services' School District Voter-Approval Tax Rate Elections in 2020 (pdf) provides information for ordering and holding a voter-approval tax rate election (VATRE).
• TASB Legal Services' HB 2840 - Public Comment and Testimony at Board Meetings (pdf) provides basic information about House Bill 2840, effective September 1, 2019, that affects how school boards must address public comments from citizens during board meetings.

IRS Allows Deductions for COVID-19 Protective Items
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced eligible educators may include COVID-19 protective items in the educator expense deduction.

Strategic Staffing: Part 1
To provide school districts with valuable information and meet the recent uptick in requests for staffing benchmarks, we are releasing a five-part series on strategic staffing.

Calculating Wage Garnishments for Multiple Requests
Calculating an allowable wage garnishment amount can present a challenge, especially when an employee is subject to multiple orders.

Read all HRX articles

Banquete ISD Hires Executive Search Services

On February 8, the Banquete ISD Board of Trustees voted to hire TASB Executive Search Services (ESS) to conduct a search for a new superintendent. Details and updates will appear on our searches page as things progress.

Fort Stockton ISD Hires Executive Search Services

On February 5, the Fort Stockton ISD Board of Trustees voted to hire TASB Executive Search Services (ESS) to conduct a search for a new superintendent. Details and updates will appear on our searches page as things progress.

Taft ISD Hires Executive Search Services

On January 12, the Taft ISD Board of Trustees voted to hire TASB Executive Search Services (ESS) to conduct a search for a new superintendent. Details and updates will appear on our searches page as things progress.

United ISD Hires Executive Search Services

On January 5, the United ISD Board of Trustees voted to hire TASB Executive Search Services (ESS) to conduct a search for a new superintendent. Details and updates will appear on our searches page as things progress.

Queen City ISD Hires New Superintendent

On January 4, the Queen City ISD Board of Trustees voted to hire Darrian Dover as the district’s new superintendent. Dover most recently served as the superintendent in Meadow ISD.

Further details about all search activities can be found on the ESS website.