LISD responds to latest guidance from TEA

Update #5: Launch to Learning 2020-21

From Leander ISD on July 14, 2020

We’re continuing to advocate for our teachers, staff, students, and community as we plan to launch the 2020-21 school year. Yesterday, our Board of Trustees and Superintendent sent a letter to Governor Greg Abbott, Texas Education Agency (TEA) Commissioner Mike Morath, and the state elected officials for public education and our district.

In the letter, we are asking for the following items:

  • suspension of in-person school and allowance for 100% virtual learning until the seven-day hospitalization average is five or less, the threshold set by the Austin-Travis County public health agency for a stage 2 response; 
  • flexibility to realistically minimize classroom ratios and provide social distancing;
  • the suspension of STAAR and the A-F state accountability system for the 2020-21 school year; 
  • additional funding to supplement costs incurred by districts to provide safe and effective learning; and
  • a commitment to allocate current or future federal money specified for schools as a supplement to existing funding commitments by the state.

The letter comes after TEA announced rules and guidelines for opening the school year that required districts to offer 100% in-person instruction for all students, making it impossible to ensure students and staff stay in small groups and socially distanced for the entire school day. 

The letter also addresses the state’s use of the federal CARES Act funding for schools to supplant its existing funding commitment to schools, rather than a supplement to cover the increased cost of operations during the novel coronavirus pandemic. 

If you would like to help amplify this message, please share your concerns as well. 

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

We know our community has many questions about the path forward for LISD. Thank you for sharing what we need to be thinking about as we continue to plan in a changing environment. We continue to add new questions and answers on the Launch to Learning webpage. These additions will be highlighted green for a few days and then moved into queue under the appropriate subcategory: 

  • Student and Staff Health, 
  • Classroom and Campus Safety,
  • Social Distancing, and
  • Virtual Empowered Learning

We appreciate your feedback, questions and concerns as we continue to seek guidance from our local, state, and federal health officials, and direction from our Board of Trustees to plan a safe return this fall.

Leander ISD will host a Board of Trustees meeting this Thursday, July 16 which will include a comprehensive proposal for launching the 2020-21 school year. We anticipate having more answers after that meeting

VIRTUAL ‘LAUNCH TO LEARNING’ WEBINARS

We will be hosting Launch to Learning 2020-21 webinars on Zoom and YouTube. During the Virtual Empowered Learning and In-Person Services sessions, we will be opening a ThoughtExchange forum for attendees to submit questions, ideas, and comments before and during the forum. The Zoom platform will offer Spanish translation and Spanish speaking audiences can ask questions in Spanish on ThoughtExchange. We will offer closed captioning in English on both Zoom and YouTube.