TEA updates school guidance, reinstates parent reporting

The Texas Education Agency updated their public health guidance Thursday, with the inclusion of several major additions for the upcoming school year. One of the changes is that parents of students in a classroom or extracurricular or after-school program cohorts will have to be notified if a test-confirmed COVID-19 case is identified among students, teachers or staff in those classrooms or cohorts. 

TEA stated in their new guidance that students who are actively sick, suspected of being sick or have received a positive test result for COVID-19 must be excluded from attending school in person by the Department of State Health Services. School systems must also immediately notify parents if this is determined while on campus.

Graham ISD presented its back-to-school procedures for the 2021-2022 school year during a school board meeting Wednesday, Aug. 11, which was based on the TEA guidance release Aug. 5. The guidance included isolation and quarantine protocols for those with COVID-19 or those in close contact with a positive COVID-19 individual.

The local back-to-school procedures for the district can change depending on guidance from TEA for districts in the state. The district will also be monitoring the local health situation as it unfolds through the year and communicating with Young County Local Health Authority, Dr. Pat Martin, for potential updates to their local guidelines.

Upon receiving information of a teacher, staff member, student or visitor at a campus having a test-confirmed COVID-19 condition, the campus is required to submit a report to the Texas Department of State Health Services through an online form. The form is required to be submitted each Monday for the prior seven days. Public Health Authorities are to be notified of all positive cases in schools and while school systems are not required to conduct COVID-19 cases investigations, local public health entities have the authority to investigate cases.

“Participation by individuals in these investigations remains voluntary,” the TEA stated in their updated Aug. 19 guidance. “If school systems are made aware that a student is a close contact, the school system must notify the student’s parents.”
The district had previous stated that parents would not be notified this year if an individual with a test-confirmed case of COVID-19 has been within a school, per TEA removing the requirement on Aug. 5. GISD Superintendent Sonny Cruse said the school will be reversing their previous guideline to be sent out, per the new TEA guidelines.

“We will put back in our notification system so we let people know what’s going on,” Cruse said.

For the rest of the story, see the Aug. 25 edition of The Graham Leader.