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(Emma Freer/Austonia)
The three Austin residents arrested in connection with looting, burglary and property damage at the Capital Plaza Target off I-35 near Hwy. 290 are members of the anti-gentrification group Defend Our Hoodz, according to Austin Police Department investigators.
The press release sent by the Travis County District Attorney's office after the arrests on Friday identified the trio as "known members" of a local antifa, or anti-fascist, group.
A spokesperson for the DA's office confirmed the APD investigator's conclusions in an email to Austonia.
"The looting at Target was promoted via the Mike Ramos Brigade Facebook page on a live video feed," per APD. "There is crossover between [Defend Our Hoodz] and Mike Ramos Brigade but the 3 arrests are in DOH."
Outraging video of Brad Ayala, the 16 year old targeted and shot in the head by @Austin_Police with a rubber bullet… https://t.co/sGaMq1SGu0— Defend Our Hoodz - Austin (@Defend Our Hoodz - Austin)1591110941.0
Both Defend Our Hoodz and the Mike Ramos Brigade frequently describe police officers as "pigs" on social media; their activities are covered by the WordPress sites Incendiary News Service and Tribune of the People, respectively, which share at least one writer.
We interrupted APD's publicity stunt taking a knee and 8 minutes of silence today. These pigs don't deserve any sil… https://t.co/f1BX6UVVfu— Mike Ramos Brigade (@Mike Ramos Brigade)1591475877.0
Brenda Ramos, whose son Mike was shot and killed by an APD officer on April 24, said the brigade is not associated with her family at a protest organized by the Austin Justice Coalition yesterday.
APD estimates around 20 to 30 people participated in the looting, which took place on May 31 following a protest in downtown Austin. The damage and stolen merchandise is valued at more than $20,000.
As part of an ongoing investigation by APD, the DA's office and the FBI, APD arrested three suspects on June 5.
Lisa Hogan, 27, was arrested on charges of riot and burglary, both of which are state jail felonies. She is suspected of live streaming the looting on Facebook and encouraging others to join in. Her bonds are set at $25,000 each.
(Austin Police Department)
Samuel Miller, 22, was arrested on charges of criminal mischief and burglary, both of which are state jail felonies. He is also accused of destroying surveillance cameras outside the store. His bonds are set at $25,000 each.
(Austin Police Department)
Skye Elder, 23, was arrested for burglary, and bond is set at $25,000.
(Austin Police Department)
The Mike Ramos Brigade has hosted at least two protests outside of APD headquarters in the wake of George Floyd's death. After one on May 30 ended with police violence and vandalism, the Austin Justice Coalition announced it would cancel a march it had planned for May 31.
"The safety of black lives is always our main concern and we cannot in our right mind send people out in the current climate," the local criminal justice reform organization posted to Instagram hours before the event was scheduled to begin.
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(The Austin Bulldog)
The Travis Central Appraisal District has identified a new market data source that will allow it to reappraise residential properties in 2021 after a legal dispute with the Austin Board of Realtors prevented the district from doing so this year.
<p>The TCAD board unanimously approved a new contract with Carahsoft Technology Corporation and TransUnion, which includes access to a new market data report.</p><p>"Given the information, we're optimistic that we'll be able to recalibrate our appraisal models for 2021," TCAD Chief Appraiser Marya Crigler said during a board meeting on Friday.</p><p>Texas is one of 12 non-disclosure states in the U.S., which means real estate sales prices and other market data are not publicly available. </p><p>As a result, TCAD had previously relied on home-sales price data provided through third-party vendors. In 2018, the district signed a contract with CoreLogic, which had agreed to sell access to market data collected by the Austin Board of Realtors. </p><p>Last year, however, ABoR sent a cease-and-desist letter to TCAD, arguing that its market data was proprietary and preventing the district from accessing it further. </p><p>Although appraisal districts across Texas rely on other sources of data, such as sales questionnaires and title company inquiries, Crigler said TCAD was not able to gather enough information to recalibrate its models accurately without the ABoR data. </p><p>The district was able to access, on average, 95% of sales data between 2012 and 2019, according to data Crigler shared with the board. But in 2020 it could only access 15%.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="bd3e988e69c0ab1a07409ee68311ad57" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="d35ef" type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDU2OTA0Ny9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyOTA3MjMyNn0.MeU5Sxp46xMBLlZvXiSlsQadEGAu_XB6EIH6RqFKT8g/img.png?width=980"/>
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">(Travis Central Appraisal District)</small></p><p>In February, Crigler announced TCAD would not re-appraise residential properties in 2020 because it didn't have adequate market data to do so accurately and legally.<br/></p><p>This was a big deal in a hot market. City budget documents show the median appraised home value increased more than 6% in 2019, and representatives from eight Travis County School districts said the decision would have <a href="https://communityimpact.com/austin/central-austin/housing-real-estate/2020/02/19/fight-over-home-sales-market-data-means-travis-county-appraisals-will-not-change-this-year-area-schools-may-suffer/" target="_blank">negative effects on school funding</a>, which is contingent upon property tax revenue. ABoR <a href="https://www.abor.com/tcad-update-how-abor-is-taking-action/" target="_blank">disputed this claim</a>. </p><p>Since then, Crigler told board members she has reached out to property appraisers "from Pennsylvania to California and all parts in between"—as well as some in Canada, the European Union and Asia—to ask about possible solutions.<br/></p><p>An assessor's office in Cook County, Illinois, turned Crigler on to a new product from the Carahsoft Technology Corporation and TransUnion. Like the ABoR data, their market data report is proprietary.</p><p>After piloting a test of sample data to verify its accuracy over the summer, Crigler recommended that the TCAD board approve a contract with Carahsoft for the report. </p><p>"We feel confident that it is good market data that they are providing to us," she said. </p><p>The board voted unanimously to do so.</p><p>Because the state of Texas has pre-negotiated a contract with Carahsoft that includes this new product, Travis County will be able to purchase the product through the state. </p><p>The initial report costs $201,788 and TCAD estimates that subsequent quarterly reports will cost around $25,000 apiece.</p><p>This is significantly more expensive than the CoreLogic contract that TCAD had previously relied on, which Crigler said was around $25,000 annually.</p><p>But Travis County Tax Assessor-Collector and Voter Registrar Bruce Efant, who is on the TCAD board, reasoned that the Carahsoft report is "a better product—and it's not a product that will get yanked from us." </p><p>Travis County homeowners can expect to receive their 2021 appraisal notices around April. </p>
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(Chris Lammert)
Austin's self-made millionaire Kendra Scott turned the city skyline yellow this week in celebration of her "Shark Tank" debut.
<p>Scott, CEO of her <a href="https://www.kendrascott.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">self-named jewelry empire</a>, celebrates the premiere of season 12 of ABC's "Shark Tank"—<a href="https://austonia.com/kendra-scott-shark-tank" target="_self">where she has taken a seat as a guest Shark</a> on the show—by partnering with 17 downtown buildings to light up the Austin skies with her signature yellow Thursday night.</p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="40aa7fb6b50ecc29751a4f705f1d253e" id="2daff"><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-version="4" style=" background:#FFF; border:0;
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/CGqMByjHuIL/" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif;
font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;
word-wrap:break-word;" target="_top">kendrascott on Instagram: Ignore @mcuban ’s laugh in the background... He's just jealous the new Shark came up with a killer nickname so fast. 😉😂🦈Catch Kendra on an…</a></p>
</div></blockquote></div><p><br/></p><p>The premiere episode is set to air tonight at 7 p.m. on ABC.</p><p>Though many buildings supported Scott with yellow lights, Fairmont Austin hotel went the extra mile, lighting up with Scott's signature Jae star and initials. According to a press release, the Jae star also pays homage to the Lone Star State.</p>
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDU2Nzc1OC9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyOTIzNjg3MX0.L7F1oQgs__tFRL88P49DLKKy3n5set6zoGLcdU-eYkM/img.png?width=980" id="9e0bd" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="5f0602312230fb68446bfbbf5c88d599" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
<p>In tandem with her premiere, Scott will make a donation to <a href="https://www.divinc.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">DivInc.</a>, a non-profit that supports underrepresented entrepreneurs. The donation will help DivInc. reach its 2020 fundraising goals.</p>
<h2><a href="https://austonia.com/austin-claims-four-of-americas-richest-self-made-women" target="_self">Austin claims four of America's richest self-made women</a></h2>
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDUxNzgwMi9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1NTEyNzY3MH0.O2ZAm8ZEvTDqxe0wKvspYemc7YZ_WFXmuVUSavLHPoo/img.png?width=980" id="bb5a5" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="d63e9c53e5b1cf2db9ad1f2c2a3c6082" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />Austin claims four of America’s richest self-made women
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(Bob Daemmrich)
More than 43% of registered Travis County residents voted early in person or had their mail-in ballots received between Oct. 13 and Thursday, with eight more days to go before the early voting period ends on Oct. 30.
<p>Texas Gov. Greg Abbott extended the early voting period by six days in July, due to the pandemic.</p><p>A record-breaking 97% of eligible Travis County residents are registered to vote this election, according to the Travis County Tax Assessor-Collector and Voter Registrar.</p><div class="rm-embed embed-media"><iframe frameborder="0" height="371" scrolling="no" seamless="" src="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vQPCgZ2llVxj8zUeaUWJwqww5sBVUXIpHTgT6Ir4ihbSaBAq-TA1lcpQbps7ZRuhRs8u0egrmeqFhNm/pubchart?oid=1949030000&format=interactive" width="600"></iframe></div><p>So far, the highest turnout this early voting period was last Friday, when nearly 41,265 people turned out to vote in person.</p><div class="rm-embed embed-media"><iframe frameborder="0" height="371" scrolling="no" seamless="" src="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vQPCgZ2llVxj8zUeaUWJwqww5sBVUXIpHTgT6Ir4ihbSaBAq-TA1lcpQbps7ZRuhRs8u0egrmeqFhNm/pubchart?oid=1791081779&format=interactive" width="600"></iframe></div><p>The bulk—nearly 86%—of early votes cast this election have been in-person. The remainder are mostly mail-in ballots, which Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir said are mostly requested by residents 65 years of age and older.</p><p>A very small number of early votes—434, or less than 1%—have come through limited ballots, which are intended for registered voters who have moved recently and are not registered in their new county of residence in time for the election.</p><div class="rm-embed embed-media"><iframe frameborder="0" height="371" scrolling="no" seamless="" src="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vQPCgZ2llVxj8zUeaUWJwqww5sBVUXIpHTgT6Ir4ihbSaBAq-TA1lcpQbps7ZRuhRs8u0egrmeqFhNm/pubchart?oid=974654508&format=interactive" width="600"></iframe></div><p>As of Thursday evening, 370,970 people had voted early—either in person or by sending in their mail-in ballot—in Travis County. During the first 10 days of early voting in the 2016 presidential election, 297,357 people had voted; in 2012, 177,071 had.</p><div class="rm-embed embed-media"><iframe frameborder="0" height="371" scrolling="no" seamless="" src="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vQPCgZ2llVxj8zUeaUWJwqww5sBVUXIpHTgT6Ir4ihbSaBAq-TA1lcpQbps7ZRuhRs8u0egrmeqFhNm/pubchart?oid=1310653569&format=interactive" width="600"></iframe></div><p>During the 2016 presidential election, 40.8% of registered Travis County voters cast their ballots in the first 10 days of the early voting period and 51% voted early overall, according to the Travis County Clerk's office. In 2012, 27.9% of registered Travis County voters cast their ballots in the first 10 days of the early voting period and just under 38% did overall.</p>
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(Texas Football/Instagram)
Saturday, the Texas Longhorns will face one of its oldest rivals—Baylor—in a matchup that has all the makings of a do-or-die game for the Longhorn season.
<p>Last season, The University of Texas lost a back-and-forth game to Baylor 24-10 in Waco. This year will mark the 60th time the two programs face off against each other in the capital city, with Longhorns fans hoping that this season's home field advantage might play a role in a Texas victory. </p><p>Baylor, losers of their last conference game against West Virginia on Oct. 3, come to Austin in hopes of moving up the Big 12 standing and competing for a conference title at the end of the year.<br/></p><p>The Longhorns, and their fans, are still trying to get over the overtime loss to Oklahoma two weeks ago, which not only knocked Texas out of AP's Top 25 ranking but also put them at 1-2 in conference play. Add into the mix the debate over "The Eyes of Texas" still burning bright on Longhorn message boards, with the Longhorn band reported not to be traveling due to resistance to play the song. Even the school mascot Bevo isn't safe from controversy after being <a href="https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/30161099/photographer-sues-handlers-texas-longhorns-mascot-pre-sugar-bowl-charge" target="_blank">sued by a photographer it charged at the Sugar Bowl in 2019</a>. <br/></p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="e4a61d128600a3f1e4a8cc094a5f75f8" id="6790a"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1318341497109028866"><div style="margin:1em 0">Dear Baylor Bears: you’d better strap-down your helmets, the Longhorns are our for revenge.
Seriously, you’ll get… https://t.co/YebyNj45Vs</div> — Ed (@Ed)<a href="https://twitter.com/edw1414/statuses/1318341497109028866">1603152081.0</a></blockquote></div><p>One of the only bright spots has been senior quarterback Sam Ehlinger. Ehlinger threw for 200 yards and rushed for 79 more against the Baylor defense last year. This season, Ehlinger has continued being dangerous with both his arm and his legs, leading the conference in passing yards (1,211) and touchdowns (16). Combined with his five rushing touchdowns, Ehlinger is the proven dual-threat quarterback in the conference. But even with Ehlinger and the offensive successes, the Texas defense still ranks near the bottom of the conference in <a href="https://www.espn.com/college-football/fpi/_/view/efficiencies/group/4/sort/efficiencies.defefficiency/dir/desc" target="_blank">defensive efficiency</a>.<br/></p><p>The defense shouldn't be a problem this weekend however for the Longhorns. Baylor has struggled putting points on the board against good Big 12 competition, scoring only 21 points in two overtimes against West Virginia. </p><p>Longhorns fans of course are always nervous when senior quarterback Charlie Brewer comes to town. Brewer threw for a touchdown and rushed for one last season in the match up in Waco, but was forced to leave against West Virginia two weeks ago due to a shoulder injury. </p><p>After the Bears had to move their game last week against <a href="https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/30142470/baylor-bears-resume-practice-surge-covid-19-cases" target="_blank">Oklahoma State back due to COVID concerns</a>, Brewer has had two weeks of rest and should be ready to go for Saturday's game. The Baylor quarterback's arm is still something for Texas fans to keep an eye on as the game progresses on Saturday.</p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="b92292482a9a2a528655d391db8d0a14" id="0a697"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1318720682310701061"><div style="margin:1em 0">A Sam Ehlinger led football team has never beaten a Charlie Brewer led football team:
2015 - lost 35-14
2016 - inj… https://t.co/dT1f3JIIW9</div> — Kyle Umlang (@Kyle Umlang)<a href="https://twitter.com/kyleumlang/statuses/1318720682310701061">1603242485.0</a></blockquote></div><p>The match between the Bears and Longhorns will be ugly. These are two of the most penalized teams in the conferences, and something UT will have to cut down on if they want to win against Baylor. The Longhorns beat themselves on many drives against the Sooners by jumping offsides and committing penalties that took big plays off the board. </p><p>To beat Baylor it will come down to three key questions.</p><ol class="ee-ol"><li>Can the Texas offensive line allow Sam Ehlinger and red shirt sophomore receiver Joshua Moore enough time to move the ball down field and keep Baylor linebacker Terrel Bernard out of the picture?</li><li>Can the Texas defense contain Brewer?</li><li>Can Texas cut out all the different distractions that have been circling this team all season?</li></ol><p>The Longhorns are 12-4 coming off a loss in the Tom Herman era. The Longhorns season may be on the line as they try to protect home field against the Baylor Bears at 2:30 p.m. Saturday on ESPN.</p>
<h2><a href="https://austonia.com/longhorns-coach-in-hotseat" target="_self">Longhorns' head coach in the hot seat after loss against OU</a></h2>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDUwNzU5NS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1OTYxNzQ5OX0.VzM7vNjFdR5F6di9YGJ-jW_k7B6-qH-lPLJHyaSNxgQ/img.png?width=980" id="c7121" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="78724fdd1646ae47c1e111f43675cbc9" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />Longhorns' head coach in the hot seat after loss against OU
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(Amna Ijaz/The Texas Tribune)
As fall progresses, Texas public school superintendents are realizing that virtual instruction simply is not working for thousands of students across the state.
<p>Report cards from the first weeks of the school year show more students than last year failing at least one class. Students are turning in assignments late, if at all; skipping days to weeks of virtual school; and falling behind on reading, educators and parents report. Many parents say they're exhausted from playing the role of at-home teacher, and some students <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2020/09/01/texas-schools-reopening-virtual-learning/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">without support at home</a> are struggling to keep track of their daily workload with limited outside help.</p><p>The problems are concentrated among students trying to learn from home, more than 3 million of the state's 5.5 million public school students, according to administrators' accounts. The trends are adding urgency to calls for getting more students back into classrooms as quickly as possible.</p><p>By now, many school districts hoped their students would be making up academic ground lost last spring, when the pandemic caused them to shut down classrooms. Texas is mandating that districts get back to normal this fall and prepare students for upcoming state standardized tests. Schools dialed up the intensity of their classes — and then an alarming number of students began failing.</p><p>As the first grading period came to a close, some administrators began temporarily backpedaling from their initial insistence on academic rigor. They gave teachers the message: Do what you can to make sure kids pass.</p><p>Judson Independent School District, in San Antonio, added a note to its grading handbook allowing principals to "grant any exceptions" and "extend grace" to students, letting them make up late work or drop assignments. "We understand that connectivity issues, lack of devices, technological issues with the Student Portal, Canvas, and electronic books may impede a student from submitting their assignments in a timely manner," the <a href="https://www.judsonisd.org/Page/24249" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">handbook now reads</a>.</p><p>Cathryn Mitchell, principal of Austin ISD's Gorzycki Middle School, sent an email in early October, obtained by The Texas Tribune, alerting all staff to a "campus-wide dilemma." Almost 25% of students were failing at least one class, including 200 failing more than one subject. She attributed the failures to steep technology learning curves, lack of access to devices and Wi-Fi, shifting reopening guidelines and anxiety over the health risks of on-campus learning.</p><p>The email implored teachers to exhaust "all measures to assist the student before failing them," including working with them one on one, emailing or calling parents, and setting up Zoom parent conferences. For teachers unable to do everything to help a failing student before the grading deadline, Mitchell wrote, "we would ask that you gift the student with a 70." Texas' <a href="https://www.uiltexas.org/policy/tea-uil-side-by-side/academic-requirements" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">"no pass, no play" rule</a> prohibits students pulling less than a 70 in one or more classes in a marking period from playing sports or participating in extracurricular activities for three weeks.</p><p>"We know that some students are taking advantage of the situation or have procrastinated to get themselves into this position. There is no question about that," Mitchell wrote. "But we also know that we have asked a great deal of them these first five weeks. ... This will not be the norm every six-weeks."</p><p>Austin ISD officials told the Tribune that school leaders are "committed to high standards of academic rigor" and working to "better serve" students with low averages or incomplete grades based on their individual needs. They did not respond to questions about whether Mitchell's approach was supported by the district or whether 25% is an average failure number across the district this marking period. <a href="https://www.kvue.com/article/news/education/austin-isd-50-increase-students-failing-throughout-district-covid-changes/269-0765cec4-b06e-48c3-9997-2571c5da8930" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">According to KVUE-TV</a>, about 11,700 Austin ISD students are failing at least one class this year, a 70% increase from last year.</p><p>As the extent of students' struggles become clear, parents and superintendents are increasingly determined to get students back to school, the pendulum of their worries swinging away from health risks and toward the risks of students not learning at all. "Districts are starting to feel some real internal pressure as educators," said Joy Baskin, legal services director at the Texas Association of School Boards. "If they feel that there's enough momentum around getting everyone back, I think that's their preference."</p><p>State data on COVID-19 in schools is <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2020/10/01/texas-schools-coronavirus-data/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">limited and full of gaps</a>, but it points toward low student infection rates, encouraging some experts. Experts say layering policies such as sanitization, social distancing and masks is needed to reduce the risk of transmission. Despite outcries from some teachers and parents, dozens of school districts have <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2020/10/21/texas-schools-remote-in-person-learning/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">nixed their virtual learning options</a> altogether and brought nearly all students back to classrooms.</p><p>According to the <a href="https://www.expressnews.com/news/education/article/As-students-drift-some-rural-school-districts-15664687.php" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">San Antonio Express-News</a>, at least one of those districts is attempting to require all remote learners with failing grades to return in person — violating <a href="https://tea.texas.gov/sites/default/files/covid/SY-2020-21-Attendance-and-Enrollment.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">recently updated state guidance</a>. "Discontinuing remote instruction in a way that only targets struggling students is not permitted," the updated guidance reads.</p><p>Texas school districts don't have much time to get students back on track. This academic year, the Texas Education Agency will <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2020/07/27/staar-texas-fifth-eighth-grade/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">resume strict sanctions on schools</a> and districts with consistently low student standardized test scores after pausing those penalties last spring. And there are dollars at stake, with state funding tied to student attendance. Districts have reported <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2020/10/01/texas-schools-enrollment-funding/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">losing track of thousands of students</a>, including some of their most vulnerable, who haven't logged into virtual classes or responded to phone calls and door knocks. According to state leaders, schools that are open for in-person instruction have seen higher levels of enrollment than those with only virtual education.</p><p>San Antonio's Northside ISD has not changed its expectations for virtual students, despite seeing higher failure rates, said Superintendent Brian Woods. Since many students learning from home are low income, Black and Hispanic, lowering academic standards for those students could end up deepening existing inequities, he said.</p><p>Instead, the district has put together a call team to reach out to low-performing virtual learners and urge them to come back to campus. Just under 45% of students are learning from classrooms in the second grading period, up from less than 25% earlier in the fall, when the district slowly phased students in. "We're not going to fix it by only taking the good grades or dropping half the grades," Woods said. "We've got to dig in and look more at the root cause. We know what it is: There's kids who need to be in the building, period."</p><p>In Brazosport ISD, where 78% of students are learning in classrooms, a quarter of virtual learners are failing two or more classes, compared with 8% of at-school students. The district is "not dropping our expectations for at-home students," said Superintendent Danny Massey. But with coronavirus cases dropping in Brazoria County and district officials being transparent about COVID-19 cases on campuses, more parents are gradually choosing to send their students back.</p><p>Some Austin ISD parents are considering sending their children back later this fall, once the district returns to <a href="https://www.kvue.com/article/news/education/schools/austin-isd-reopening-students-return-campus-nov-2/269-c342bf83-21ed-46d8-9b74-78a79b8cce44" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">in-person instruction that more closely resembles a regular classroom</a>. When the district reopened, it had students sitting in classrooms but learning virtually. The state halted that approach. Rosemary Wynn, an Austin ISD parent, thinks her eighth and ninth grade sons may get more out of learning in person once it includes more face-to-face instruction.</p><p>She and her husband had a stern talk with their O. Henry Middle School eighth grader earlier this fall after realizing he had not opened about 100 emails from his teachers, except one from his football coach. He was previously a straight-A student, but at one point his grade in one class had fallen to 29, she said.</p><p>"Children don't know how to read email. That is not part of their repertoire," she said, with exasperation. "I haven't had a single teacher reach out to say, 'your kids' grades this, your kids' grades that.' I think the whole way this is set up is a recipe for disaster."</p><p>Kelly Sanders and her son Bizuayehu Crouther, a 14-year-old at Austin High School in Austin ISD, regularly debate whether he should return later this fall. Bizuayehu has dyslexia and dysgraphia, which impacts his ability to write clearly by hand, and he's found virtual learning much easier. "I do not want to go back," he said.</p><p>Sanders is concerned that the second grading period will be even more academically rigorous and that her son will not be able to keep up virtually. "I'm happy that [he is] making really good grades right now, but I'm concerned that it still isn't as rigorous as the classes would be if it were in person. If at some point he has to take a standardized test on the material, I don't know what that looks like," she said.</p><p>But for other parents, the decision is easy. Single parent Renee Schalk chose to keep her 17-year-old son and 2-year-old triplets home from Georgetown schools and doesn't regret it. "My children are children of color," said Schalk, who is Black. "I don't want them subjected to COVID-19. … We're not doing enough in this state, we're not doing anything in this country to make it safe."</p><p>Angelina Allegrini, a 14-year-old ninth grader in San Antonio's North East ISD, said her grades suffered in the beginning of the year as she got accustomed to the variety of programs teachers used for online learning and the exhaustion of staring at a screen for three to four hours a day. After a few weeks, and a little leniency from teachers, she pulled them back up.</p><p>But the social, extroverted teenager still felt she was missing something. "I wanted to try to get to know people in my class. I saw some of them on the screen, but that's not the same," she said.</p><p>On Monday, after several weeks of learning from home, Angelina walked into her high school for the first time this year. Her mother, Cherise Rohr Allegrini, a prominent epidemiologist in San Antonio, said she was "not thrilled" about her daughter's decision but predicted it wouldn't last long, with a surge in COVID-19 cases likely on the horizon. "I think they're probably going to change and close schools in a couple of weeks or so," she said. "We're going to start seeing outbreaks on campuses."</p><p><strong>More on schools:</strong></p>
<h2><a href="https://austonia.com/aisd-back-in-school-no-social-lives" target="_self">Austin ISD continues its phased-in reopening, but kids' social lives remain absent</a></h2>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDUwMzI4MS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1NjgxNjAwMn0.l6x_74Bsz3sXkKeSalYZUX_nPUzKyVFA3iMODY0PZ6U/img.png?width=980" id="108bd" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="71d5f1f44c68683e24751546b6002007" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />Austin ISD continues its phased-in reopening, but kids’ social lives remain absent(Sheryl and Dean Jett)
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Austin may receive fall weather in the form of not just one but two cold fronts in the coming days.
<p>According to the National Weather Service, Friday will bring a mild cool front lasting into Saturday night. Sunday will then bring above average temperatures followed by a lasting cold front on Monday.</p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="65129520574644aae30cd2b97fdc33f1" id="6286c"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1319228790715895809"><div style="margin:1em 0">We'll see one more day of hot and humid weather, and then a Friday cold front brings cooler weather that lasts into… https://t.co/QCFRjm1yb7</div> — NWS Austin/San Antonio (@NWS Austin/San Antonio)<a href="https://twitter.com/NWSSanAntonio/statuses/1319228790715895809">1603363628.0</a></blockquote></div><p>The cold front is likely to bring damp and rainy weather along with it. According to <a href="https://weather.com/weather/tenday/l/e984113ce3e551f4914f965a69b5e6f0ad8f76cb5da62ea88e32639a2af2a66f" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Weather Channel</a>, temperatures will crash down on Tuesday with a high of 58 degrees and a low of 50 degrees. However, showers are likely to last through Wednesday.</p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="7e03267a9d828fb102c53a9e5274cb2a" id="e7e9f"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1318995067651026945"><div style="margin:1em 0">Odds are tilted toward below normal temperatures next week across South-Central Texas. It's important to note that… https://t.co/U62wpuwbuZ</div> — NWS Austin/San Antonio (@NWS Austin/San Antonio)<a href="https://twitter.com/NWSSanAntonio/statuses/1318995067651026945">1603307904.0</a></blockquote></div><p>After Wednesday, temperatures should return to a range of 70-degree weather. Though these temperatures follow the current forecast, it is still possible to change depending on whether the front stalls in the north or moves through.</p>
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(F. Clinton Broden/Broden & Mickelsen)
Daniel Perry, the active-duty Army sergeant who says he shot armed Black Lives Matter protester Garrett Foster in self-defense while driving for Uber, took a lie detector test for the incident that happened in July .
<p>Perry claimed Foster, who was carrying an AK-47 rifle, raised the assault weapon "in direct threat to (his) life" in a July 31 statement. However, the Austin Police Department said witnesses have described several different versions of the incident.</p><p><span></span>"In order to put this issue to rest, Sgt. Foster recently took a polygraph test," Foster's lawyer, Clint Broden, said in a press release issued on Thursday.</p><p>The test posed two questions, both of which asked whether Perry lied about seeing the AK raised before shooting Foster.</p><p>Perry answered "no" to both and the polygraph examiner found "no deception indicated," per the release.</p><p>Although lie detector tests are commonly used by law enforcement, many dispute their value.<br/><span></span></p><p>"Most psychologists and other scientists agree that there is little basis for the validity of polygraph tests,"<a href="https://www.apa.org/research/action/polygraph" target="_blank"> according to the American Psychological Association</a>. </p><p>In <a href="https://www.nap.edu/read/10420/chapter/2" target="_blank">a nearly 400-page report</a>, published in 2003, the National Research Council concurred, writing: "Almost a century of research into scientific psychology and physiology provides little basis for the expectation that a polygraph test could have extremely high accuracy."</p><p>APD said the investigation is ongoing in an email to Austonia on Thursday. The department last provided an update regarding Foster's death on Aug. 26, when it <a href="https://www.austintexas.gov/news/apd-seeking-assistance-potential-witnesses-garrett-foster-investigation-0" target="_blank">asked for witnesses to come forward</a> with any information about the incident.</p><p>Perry is stationed in Killeen and only allowed to travel 100 miles from base. Broden said he was in Austin the night of Foster's death because it "was the closest location that had <a href="https://austonia.com/army-sgt-daniel-perry-who-claims-he-shot-blm-protestor-garrett-foster-was-driving-for-uber" target="_self">significant ridesharing customers</a>."</p><p>After shooting Foster, Perry said he drove away and then called the police, <a href="https://austonia.com/austin-protesters-clash-with-police-in-the-wake-of-garrett-fosters-death" target="_blank">who later released him with no charges</a>. </p><p>Foster <a href="https://austonia.com/austin-protests-garrett-foster" target="_self">regularly attended Black Lives Matter protests</a> in Austin with his fiancée Whitney Mitchell, a quadruple-amputee. </p><p>On the night of his death, Foster attended one organized by the Mike Ramos Brigade, which has referred to Foster as a "comrade" and "one of our own" in social media posts.</p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="dda777ff18ccce32de33f3b32ce65604" id="3c3b7"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1287250590100262912"><div style="margin:1em 0">Tonight a racist vigilante murdered a comrade that has consistently shown up for Black lives for the last two month… https://t.co/Mmraf4m7xA</div> — Mike Ramos Brigade (@Mike Ramos Brigade)<a href="https://twitter.com/mike_r_brigade/statuses/1287250590100262912">1595739431.0</a></blockquote></div><p>The group's members have not identified themselves, but APD <a href="https://austonia.com/city/austin-antifa-looting" target="_self">confirmed in June</a> that there is crossover between the brigade and a local antifa group called Defend Our Hoodz, which organized a rent strike and May Day protests <a href="https://austonia.com/austin-may-day" target="_self">earlier this year</a>. The mother of MIke Ramos has <a href="https://www.fox7austin.com/news/mother-of-mike-ramos-denounces-group-using-her-sons-name" target="_blank">denounced</a> the group's use of her son's name. Her son was shot and killed by APD officers in April.</p><p><span></span>Like Perry, Foster served in the military, but he left to care for Mitchell when she became sick with an unknown illness, which led to her amputations, <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/news/texas/2020/07/26/man-fatally-shot-at-protest-in-austin/" target="_blank">according to the Dallas Morning News</a>.</p><p>On the night he was shot, Foster spoke about why he was carrying an AK-47 with Hiram Gilberto Garcia, who has been broadcasting live footage from the Austin protests.</p><p>"They don't let us march in the streets anymore, so I got to practice some of our rights," Foster said. </p>
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