3 Aug 2021 - Department of Public Health, City of El Paso - Recommendations for Schools
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4 Aug - Letter from El Paso County Judge & El Paso City Mayor

Texas State Board of Education Member Georgina Pérez is offering to raise funds to help cover any penalty imposed on districts that violate Gov. Greg Abbott's latest executive order banning COVID-19 mitigation strategies.

Gov. Abbott issued executive order GA-38 last week which prohibits local government entities, including school districts, from enforcing proven mitigation strategies such as immunization and the use of face coverings. Under this order, school districts that act to protect the health of local communities by implementing the same strategies that helped slow the spread of COVID-19 last year are now subject to a fine of up to $1,000.

Member Pérez has offered to raise private funds to help pay the fine for any district punished under order GA-38 for acting to protect students and staff.

"Governor Abbott's latest politically-driven order will kill people. Period." Perez said. "Local leaders of good conscience are obligated to ignore this fraud and act on their own to safeguard the lives of our precious children and the educators who serve them. A thousand bucks is a small price to pay."
The highly infectious Delta variant has caused COVID-19 hospitalizations to skyrocket across Texas just as millions of children too young to be vaccinated, some of whom suffer from preexisting health conditions, return to school.

The American Academy of Pediatrics reports that children account for 1 in 6 new COVID-19 cases and has recommended all children over the age of 2 wear masks. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control has likewise recommended all students wear masks when they return to classrooms.

Accelerated Learning Resources
To accelerate student learning to grade level TEKS mastery, we must rethink how we support teachers, adopt and implement instructional materials, and provide more time for the students most in need.

House Bill 4545 Overview
House Bill 4545 recently passed in the 87th Regular Legislative Session . The new statute is effective, as of June, 2021, with acceleration instruction practices required during the 2021-2022 school year for all students, based on results from Spring 2021. The Texas Education Agency (TEA) will be providing support and guidance for local education agencies (LEAs) during the summer in a few venues: 

• Registration links of future webinars are available below.

Retention and Retesting 
HB 4545 establishes new requirements for accelerated instruction for students who do not pass the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR®). At a high level, the legislation includes:

• Elimination of grade retention and retesting requirements in grades 5 and 8
• For any student who does not pass the STAAR test in grade 3, 5, or 8 in math or reading, a new LEA requirement to establish an accelerated learning committee to develop an individual educational plan for the student and monitor progress

https://tea.texas.gov/texas-schools/health-safety-discipline/covid/accelerated-learning-resources

Questions from Teachers, Teacher Associations, and Trustees not addressed above
*unanswered questions are pending response from TEA

Elementary SPED teachers are very worried about the requirement that they be certified bilingual if they have any students coded English Learners (ELs)  in a unit.  Several teachers do not speak Spanish fluently and will not be able to pass the test.  Will these teachers be displaced because they do not pass the certification? - pending response

Protocol for 2021-2022 COVID19 / Delta Variant Outbreaks - pending response

Students 11 years old and younger / home school due to no vaccine / TXVSN influx accommodation - TEA is looking into a VSN expansion. There are also Virtual Academies (11 academies).

No STAAR for the for these next three school years. In order to waive state required tests, TEA would need to file a waiver to the Dept of Education. As of today, TEA is not motivated to apply nor is DOE considering additional accountability waivers.

ESSER funding for virtual instruction provided by the ISD, but not ADA for qualifying students - an ISD can provide the services but students are not enrolled and the ISD will not receive ADA.

State BOY assessments being considered as STAAR/EOC for students that did not test? Yes, ISDs may use the BOY or alternatives as well

We are seeking clarification on the 30 hours required for any student who did not pass reading or math. 30 hours  / 3 students to 1 teacher-ratio is required for all content areas for students who did not test or did not meet cut scores. Example: 8th grade students who did not take all 4 tests - pending response

Any flexibility or any mechanisms in place regarding the 90% rule for students who stayed home as a precaution for being sick and/or were actually COVID positive. It seems they are going to have the same expectations for ADA funding re attendance BUT are also treating parents keeping sick kids home as the main safety measure for spread - 75% attendance

El Paso – Texas State Board of Education Member Georgina Pérez (D-El Paso) joins members of the Texas Legislature in urging the legislature pass House Bill 392 by Rep. Rhetta Bowers (D-Garland), otherwise known as the CROWN Act.

The CROWN Act stands for Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair and would prohibit discrimination on the basis of hair texture or protective hair style associated with race.

"As Texans, our diversity is a source of both beauty and strength," said Pérez. "Every student and every employee should be proud to wear their hair in a way that serves both practical purposes as well as a symbol of cultural identity. I am proud to stand with my colleagues in support of the CROWN Act to end discrimination based on natural hair."

HB 392 has been introduced and referred to the House Committee on State Affairs and has yet to receive a hearing. Pérez urges the committee to swiftly consider the bill before the deadline for hearing House bills in committee.

SB 28, may be heard as early as tomorrow on the Senate Floor.

The Texas State Board of Education does not support a supermajority requirement for the SBOE's existing authority to veto approval of a new open-enrollment charter school.

A supermajority requirement disenfranchises a majority of Texas voters.

The SBOE is the only elected body with any oversight regarding the approval of new charter school chains, schools which will cost Texas $8.5 billion in state revenue in the next two years. A supermajority requirement allows a small group on the board to control the lucrative award to a private entity of what is essentially creating an entirely new school district in this state. Limiting the fifteen elected members – a body representative of Texas's very diversity – to decide by supermajority vote would exacerbate our children's educational segregation and disenfranchisement.
 
The SBOE believes it is imperative that its veto authority be expanded to include charter expansion amendments, which account for the vast majority of charter growth. Providing that the veto is expanded in this way, the board would be open to consideration of the following general limitations on veto authority.

The Texas State Board of Education voted in its legislative agenda to request veto powers over charter expansion amendments in 2020. The TXSBOE has made no agreements to limit its existing authority to veto new charter applicants.

Please see the proposal sent to the Lt. Governor's office, to follow. We offered a proposal of limits of reasons for vetoes of initial charters - only if veto authority is granted for charter expansion amendments, but we did not agree to a supermajority limitation.  I therefore respectfully urge you to oppose SB28.

These considerations, focused on students' and taxpayers' best interests, will give charter applicants and existing charter school operators clearer information about the metrics for consideration of requests to establish or expand a charter school. Transparency and public review, and input on these requests, will provide the public with the assurances that charter schools in Texas provide the student equity and educational quality that our students deserve.
 
The State Board of Education veto of an open-enrollment charter school application or amendment request will be limited to the following considerations to ensure student equity, academic performance, financial responsibility, and ethical transparency:


STUDENT EQUITY

1. Evidence the requestor serves the lesser of state or local average of special education students and has recruitment policies in place that encourage special education students to apply and that do not limit admission and enrollment.
2. Evidence the requestor has budgeted for, employs, and intends to employ certified teachers in special education and bilingual education as required by law.
3. Evidence the charter intends to serve students representative of student demographics in the proposed charter location.

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

1. Evidence of a record of performance such as state ratings of campuses, performance of all students, teacher qualifications, and student or teacher attrition.
2. Evidence that the proposed curriculum and materials are aligned with TEKS and do not violate the prohibition of Common Core.
3. Evidence the curriculum and instructional materials are not racially insensitive.  
4. Evidence that planning and execution of each academic and student support program are based on research-based best practices.
5. Evidence that charter leadership has had no prior issues raised related to school/campus operations, academic and fiscal management, or student performance.
6. Alignment of proposed professional development for teachers and staff with the time, budget, and expertise sufficient to execute the application's programs at a high level based on documented best practices.

FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

1. Evidence that the proposed charter model and school design are differentiated from existing public school options in the proposed area.
   
2. Evidence that the proposed campus location and any other requests for new charter campuses will not harm students in existing public schools.
   
3. Evidence that the charter budget includes sufficient funding to support the academic programs, support services, and staffing included in the charter application.
   
4. Evidence of community support and parental demand for the proposed new charter or campus, such as sign-in sheets from public meetings, petition language, and signatures from parents whose children would be eligible for the proposed campus.
   

TRANSPARENCY AND ETHICS

1. Adherence to TEA rules, state law, and instructions in the application, such as the no-contact rule and the use of TEA data in the application.
   
2. Reasonableness of the percentage of state tax dollars paid to related parties, charter management organizations, contractors, and the number of jobs that will be exported.
   
3. No evidence of conflicts of interest, self-dealing, or nepotism between the charter school and its governing body and related parties, including the charter management organization and contractors
   
4. No material breach of transparency and truthfulness in application and public testimony.
   
5. Evidence that the fiduciary responsibilities and decisions reside with the Texas charter governing body.
   
6. Evidence that transparency to parents and public is honored in the same manner provided by law for school districts.
   

As a little girl living out of a duffel bag, schools were one of the few stable environments I could rely on. 

When I got older, the fact that there were other displaced kids just like me out there drove me to work my way from the maquiladoras and night classes to my first job in a classroom. 

After a decade of working with El Paso’s highest-risk students, I was proud to be chosen by our community to fight for our schools on the Texas State Board of Education. 

One of the things I quickly realized is that the rapid expansion of charter schools is slowly defunding our critical neighborhood public schools. Charters are schools that are funded by taxpayers like you and me but run by private businesses — often sending our tax dollars to states like California, Florida, and New York.
 
As an educator, I have always prioritized the students who face the most significant challenges. I’ve taught students with special needs, gang members, and kids experiencing homelessness. These are the students who charters don’t want in their buildings. 

The truth is that students in public schools are protected by decades of state and federal laws that guarantee their right to a free and appropriate education. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act requires public schools to provide, free of charge, any services required by a special education student under their individualized education plan. 

Many people don’t realize that those protections go away the minute a child walks in the front door of a charter school. But that hasn’t stopped charters from trying to lure students with special needs through misleading marketing and empty promises – hoping that parents won’t read the fine print. 

So who exactly is benefiting? 

Texans spend a staggering $3.1 billion per year subsidizing unaccountable charter schools, and all our taxpayer money is making charter owners rich. Just look at the recent headlines about the state’s largest charter chain, IDEA Public Schools, spending millions on a private jet and a luxury suite to watch the San Antonio Spurs. 

Currently, the Texas State Board of Education is the only check voters have against new charter chains’ approval. This past year, my colleagues and I vetoed the creation of three newly proposed charter chains that would have drawn millions more tax dollars away from our neighborhood schools.

Charter lobbyists are already funding efforts in the Texas Legislature this session to remove that veto authority, which would eliminate the only say Texas voters and taxpayers have in the process. 

Meanwhile, voters have no say in the expansion of existing charter chains like IDEA – which are popping up new franchises all over the state to compete for funding with our neighborhood schools. 

Legislators must not be distracted by charter lobbyists trying to ban Texans from having a say over where our tax dollars go. The Texas Legislature must instead protect taxpayers by preserving SBOE oversight and expanding the authority of the SBOE to approve or reject charter expansions. 

Voters must have a say when we’re footing the bill, especially when charters are drawing that money away from our community schools to fund their dishonest marketing efforts targeting our most vulnerable students.

PDF as of 4 March 20201

This guidance addresses:

• On campus and virtual instruction
  
• Administrative activities by teachers, staff, or students that occur on school campuses or virtually
  
• Non-UIL extracurricular sports and activities
  
• Any other activities that teachers, staff, or students must complete that cannot be accomplished virtually
  
• Visits by parents and the general public
  

Please click here for all TEA COVID-19 Supoort & Guidance