Leander school district sends letter to governor, TEA requesting only online classes

The Leander school board and the district’s superintendent have sent a letter to the governor and the Texas Education Agency asking for online classes until coronavirus hospitalizations decrease to a certain level.

The letter also asked for the suspension of the STAAR test and the A-F grading systems.

Leander school officials asked for online classes to be held until “the seven-day hospitalization average is five or less, the threshold set by the Austin-Travis County public health agency,“ the letter said.

The Texas Education Agency announced last week that parents would be allowed to choose whether students return to school or sign up for online learning. The agency has also said that the STAAR test, a state-mandated, standardized exam, will be required for the 2020-21 school year.

Allowing students to return to campuses “does not provide local school districts the flexibility to make decisions based on local data or community and staff values and expectations,” according to the letter from Leander school officials.

“Further, it removes the ability of local school officials to fully address teacher well-being, including space limitations due to social distancing requirements,” the letter said.

Leander school officials also asked in the letter for a commitment to allocate current or future federal money specified for schools as a supplement to existing funding commitments by the state.

“Federal money for students should go toward the additional materials needed to protect the health of our students and staff or to support high-quality services for student learning,” the letter said.

“We vehemently disagree with the decision to use the CARES Act to supplant state commitments for public education, providing limited additional resources to Texas students and educators.”

The state is planning to reduce its share of public school funding by using money it received from the federal CARES Act’s Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund.

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