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Purple Apple
by Georgina C. Pérez
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26 October 2020 Governor Greg Abbott Texas Capitol 1100 Congress Ave, 2S.1 Austin, TX 78701 CC: Commissioner Mike Morath Texas Education Agency 1701 N. Congress Avenue Austin, Texas 78701 Dear Governor Abbott: Earlier this year, you waived administration of the STAAR test for the 2019-20 school year as a result of educational disruptions necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic. It was clear then that administering high-stakes tests while the majority of students are learning remotely would be logistically challenging, yield questionable data, and carry negative consequences for both students and schools. When I wrote to you in March to ask that you waive the spring STAAR administration, I pointed out that broadband infrastructure is unavailable across much of State Board of Education District 1. Many communities along the border between Texas and Mexico do not have access to WiFi and lack the digital devices necessary for online learning. This remains unchanged, and many communities have become even more isolated during the pandemic. As cases surge, El Paso is now under a new lockdown, which will further disrupt the learning process. The potential consequences attached to STAAR outcomes are serious. Student promotion, retention, and graduation is based on test scores. The school accountability system includes interventions and sanctions based on STAAR data. Furthermore, we know the effects of high-stakes testing leading to toxic stress in children. Our students and teachers are already burdened with the stress of adapting to remote instructional models, in addition to the stress of simply trying to survive this pandemic. Administration of high-stakes tests this year would only add to this stress, while jeopardizing students’ academic careers and subjecting schools to the threat of sanctions based on unreliable STAAR data. I applaud you for your reasonable decision to waive the administration of the 2019-20 STAAR assessments. Today our students and teachers face the same – if not greater – challenges, rendering the need for a waiver this year even more critical. I respectfully ask that you waive administration of the STAAR, TELPAS, and all end-of-course (EOC) assessments for the 2020-21 school year. 
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Gov. Greg Abbott Texas Capitol 1100 Congress Ave, 2S.1 Austin, TX 78701 CC: Commissioner Mike Morath Texas Education Agency 1701 N. Congress Avenue Austin, Texas 78701 Dear Governor Abbott: I am sure you are following the rapid escalation of COVID-19 cases in El Paso County, which reported 358 new COVID-19 cases as of Sunday morning for a new total, nearly 26,000. So far, 534 El Pasoans have died from the disease, which has killed more than 210,000 people nationwide. The weekend numbers confirm a troubling upward trend in El Paso that threatens to grow worse if ignored. In response to the rapid increase in COVID-19 cases, our city-county health authority has determined that Halloween trick-or-treating this year would not be permissible under the disease prevention guidelines established by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. We are told that it is unsafe for our children to walk around outside in masks, yet our schools now face the prospect of being forced to call students back into classrooms or forfeit state funding. I write to urge you to provide El Paso schools with the flexibility to continue remote-only instruction beyond the 8-week maximum if local school leaders and public health officials believe doing so is necessary to safeguard the health of students, teachers, and staff. The most recent TEA guidance suggests such flexibility may be extended to districts experiencing COVID-19 hospitalization rates over 15%. This potential exception notwithstanding, the agency guidance expressly states that state funding will not be provided to schools that offer remote-only instruction beyond the 8-week window. The hospitalization rate in El Paso is currently 14%. Our schools should not be forced to choose between receiving necessary state funding or safeguarding public health over a single percentage point. Our schools already face difficult decisions regarding how best to balance educational needs and the need to prevent an uncontrollable outbreak. They must do so with the confidence and assurance that the state will faithfully meet its full funding commitment. I appreciate your previous public statements that local schools should make the ultimate decisions regarding how instruction is delivered. In this spirit, I appeal to you to make this flexibility explicit and guarantee that state funding will not be withheld if remote-only instruction continues beyond the 8-week window.  |
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