At least 45 districts shut down in-person classes due to COVID-19 cases, affecting more than 40,000

[TexasTowelie]

At least 45 districts shut down in-person classes due to COVID-19 cases, affecting more than 40,000 students


At least 45 small school districts across Texas have been forced to temporarily stop offering in-person classes as a result of COVID-19 cases in the first few weeks of the new school year, according to the Texas Education Agency.

The shutdowns, which affected about 42,000 students as of Thursday, come as cases caused by the highly contagious delta variant have plagued administrators who hoped for a normal return to the school year.

Caseloads have left districts scrambling when many have said they have fewer tools at their disposal to combat the spread of the virus and have had to come up with their own strategies that can differ from district to district. Administrators are tasked with protecting students’ and staff members’ health, providing a quality education and staying open enough days to avoid tacking on extra days at the end of the school year.

“By far this is worse in terms of planning than last year,” said Tim Savoy, spokesperson for Hays Consolidated Independent School District, which closed some classrooms. “There’s no question about it. Last year we had a lot of tools at our disposal: We could require masks, and we could provide a virtual option that was funded. … [Then], the delta variant really kind of appeared and just exploded on us.”

Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2021/09/03/texas-covid-school-districts-shut-down/

[Susan Calvin]

1. Of course it's worse than last year.

Last year we were accepting and dealing with reality. This year we're going lalalalala lalalalala lalalalala.