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(Pexels)
The Texas AFT union launched a campus-level COVID-19 tracking tool on Thursday as public schools work through their reopening plans.
The Texas American Federation of Teachers launched an online tracking tool on Thursday that allows teachers and others to report COVID-19 cases and unsafe working conditions on public school campuses.
<p>The union—which represents more than 65,000 teachers, support personnel and other employees—developed the tool after learning that state officials planned to report only district-wide data.</p><p>"We're really unsure how the state is going to deliver their data," Texas AFT President Zeph Capo said during a virtual press conference on Thursday.</p><p>The Texas Education Agency and the Department of State Health Services issued a joint statement <a href="https://tea.texas.gov/about-tea/news-and-multimedia/news-releases/news-2020/joint-statement-from-tea-and-dshs-on-creation-of-covid-19-data-tracking-system-for-texas-public-schools" target="_blank">on Aug. 20</a>, in which the agencies said they were finalizing a COVID-19 data tracking system for public schools <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2020/08/20/texas-schools-coronavirus-cases/" target="_blank">based on district reports</a>. They did not provide additional information. </p><p>The Texas AFT tracking tool aims to give teachers, parents and others a chance to report and search for campus-level COVID reporting. </p><p>Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, said the tracker is "first in class" work that arrives at a critical time. "We have to be the ones that make sure there is transparency," she said. </p><p>The tracker, which can be found at <a href="http://www.stopthespreadtx.school/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>www.stopthespreadtx.school</u></a>, allows users to share information about reported COVID cases, unsafe working conditions and personal accounts. It is not currently reporting any COVID cases in the Austin area.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="d1c46711ef49021ebbb727a10bee35ea" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="825a3" type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzkwNTI4NS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxNzM0NjYxOH0.3d6JZkp8QLkg5Cwdp3tVaS9UVxT6IWXNANrN_LCMvlg/img.png?width=980"/>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">The Texas AFT union created a tracking tool through which teachers, parents and others can report school-level COVID information.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">(Texas Public Schools COVID-19 Tracker)</small></p><p>Submissions are anonymous, but the tracker will link any reported cases to "evidence," such as a news story or an email from the school principal, that confirms the information. Users are encouraged to share these documents when making their submissions. </p><p>The union expects reports to be published on the tracking tool within around three hours of submission and will be able to unpublish or not publish reports about which its staff has concerns. </p><p>Education Austin, a union that represents Austin ISD teachers and staff, has advocated for virtual learning <a href="https://austonia.com/education/austin-schools-online" target="_self"><u>through at least November</u></a>. The district began its school year on Tuesday, but students won't begin the transition back to in-person learning until Oct. 6, <a href="https://cbsaustin.com/news/local/austin-isd-starts-school-online-some-kids-expected-back-oct-6" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>according to the current plan</u></a>.</p>
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(Austin Public Health)
Austin Public Health issued guidance for local school reopening on Friday evening.
Austin Public Health issued guidance on Friday for a phased-in reopening of schools, which links recommended on-campus capacity to the risk level.
For example, Travis County is currently at a Stage 4. According to the new guidance, schools should limit on-campus learning to 25% of the school population at this stage.
Austin-Travis County Interim Health Authority Dr. Mark Escott also adopted new emergency rules on Friday, which state that schools must follow the phased-in approach unless it will result in a loss of funding from the Texas Education Agency.
The City Order also states schools that offer instruction to students in one or more grades, pre-K through grade 12… https://t.co/C8CesoNUH3— City of Austin (@City of Austin)1597446649.0
You can reach the full set of recommendations here.
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(Austin Public Health)
After a brief plateau, the number of new confirmed COVID cases is declining again in Travis County.
Travis County is once again seeing a decline in the number of new confirmed COVID cases and related hospitalizations after a brief plateau, but more kids are testing positive and being hospitalized with the virus, the county's top health official said Tuesday.
<p>Area hospitals are reporting increased capacity and adequate staffing after two months of operating in surge mode, and the positivity rate among COVID tests conducted by and reported to Austin Public Health is declining. </p><p>"Our hope is at this stage, we're pushing past that plateau," Austin-Travis County Interim Health Authority Dr. Mark Escott told county commissioners during their weekly meeting.</p><p>But despite the progress, Escott said, there has been an increasing portion of children ages 10-19 testing positive for and being hospitalized with COVID-19. The age group accounted for more than 5% of the positive test results reported Aug. 4-10.</p><p>Children ages 10-19 had the highest or second-highest rate of positivity in the county in recent weeks, Escott said. </p><p> In the last week, 2.7% of the metro's hospitalizations were among children ages 10-19, which he said was higher than what the metro area had been seeing. It also mirrors national trends, he said, which are attributed to a variety of things including less frequent testing of asymptomatic children. </p><p>Nonetheless, Escott said, children ages 10-19 with known exposure should be tested to prevent an additional spread.</p><p>"You have seen that across the country there's been a significant increase in the number of school-aged individuals who have contracted COVID-19," Escott said.</p><p><strong>School guidance coming</strong></p><p>APH will recommend, in guidance coming this week, that area schools resume in-person classes at 25% capacity for the first two to three weeks, an idea that Escott has floated before. </p><p>"We want to make sure that the schools can manage the disease spread and new processes with a small number of students before we take on any additional risk," Escott said. "Having said that, I think doing things in a slow and methodical way is going to prevent the surge we may see if we just pack students back into school in August or September." </p><p>Continued declines in the number of new cases and hospitalizations are critical if schools are to reopen safely on Sept. 8, Escott said, especially as Labor Day and the prospect of college football games threaten to increase community transmission in the short term. </p><p>Although Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said <a href="https://austonia.com/education/ken-paxton-school" target="_self">in recent nonbinding guidance</a> that local health officials don't have the authority to shut down schools due to COVID-19, Escott feels he is within his rights to give his professional opinion. </p><p>"From my perspective, I believe I have the legal authority to do that," Escott said. </p><p><strong>Disinterest in testing</strong></p><p>Escott also noted that interest in testing is declining. </p><p>In late July, Austin Public Health was conducting more than 6,000 tests a week. Over the last week or so, however, it has conducted fewer than 1,400 because of a lack of demand. As a result, the department is expanding its free service to some asymptomatic individuals. </p><p>Last week, Escott attributed the decline to fewer cases emerging, a side effect of the decline and plateau the area has seen recently. </p><p>But residents have also complained in recent weeks about free tests that take days or weeks to return results, along with long lines - either of which may account for part of the decline. APH has reported improvement in both of those areas.</p><p>On Tuesday, APH discouraged employers from requiring employees to provide proof of multiple negative test results as a condition of returning to work. </p><p>This places an "unnecessary financial burden on the employee," APH said. </p><p>Instead, individuals who have had COVID should stay home at least 10 days following the onset of symptoms before returning to work, according to CDC recommendations.</p>
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Austin Public Health to expand testing amid plateau, urges vigilance ahead of school start
05 August
(Texas MedClinic)
Austin Public Health testing
Austin Public Health is expanding its free testing service to residents without symptoms due to a drop in demand as cases plateau.
<p>"As a result, we are going to lower the threshold for testing which will allow some asymptomatic testing to occur again," Austin-Travis County Interim Health Authority Dr. Mark Escott said Wednesday. </p><p>APH is also considering <a href="https://austonia.com/austin-rapid-covid-19-test" target="_self">offering rapid antigen testing</a>. Unlike the genetic tests APH already offers, which detect active infections but can take days to return results, antigen tests identify those infections in 15 minutes. </p><p>Some private sites, including Remedy and Total Men's Primary Care locations, already offer rapid antigen testing. Escott said the decline in demand for testing at APH's sites could be because more residents are seeking them out. </p><p>"If we can increase our availability of rapid testing, it allows us to differentiate those positive cases sooner and allows us to do those case investigations sooner," Escott said. "It really would be more effective at the 'boxing-it-in' strategy, particularly as we see case numbers decline."</p><p>APH is working with its testing contractors to see if they have the equipment and capacity necessary to provide rapid testing to city residents. </p><p>APH officials emphasized that while residents are staying vigilant when it comes to masking and socially distancing in public, they must use similar caution at home, such as by avoiding family gatherings, in order to push past the current plateau and avoid any future bounce. </p><p>"We are seeing more cases that are connected to individuals having parties with family and friends," APH Director Stephanie Hayden said. "Please make good decisions so you don't cause an increase in COVID-19 cases."</p><p><strong>What does this mean for schools?</strong></p><p>The decision on when to reopen schools for in-person class is affected by whether Austinites heed this advice, Escott said. Otherwise, schools could face a second round of closures shortly after they welcome students back. </p><p>Area school districts are going mostly or entirely virtual through early September, although the Austin ISD board of trustees is meeting on Thursday to vote on whether to <a href="https://austonia.com/first-day-of-school-austin" target="_self">delay the first official day of school to Sept. 8</a> and, potentially, delay most in-person instruction for up to eight weeks after that.</p><p>"We don't want to be in a situation where we're turning schools on and turning them off in a repetitive cycle for the next six months or a year," Escott said. "Certainly if we are in a <a href="https://www.austintexas.gov/sites/default/files/files/Health/Risk-Based-Guidance%20Eng-v14.pdf" target="_blank">Stage 2</a><a href="https://www.austintexas.gov/sites/default/files/files/Health/Risk-Based-Guidance%20Eng-v14.pdf" target="_blank"></a> by Sept. 8, it will put us in a much better situation to reopen schools and keep them open."</p><p>Escott said he is concerned about high school and college sports, specifically the University of Texas-Austin, which is expected to host football games with 25% of the stadium's 100,000 person capacity. </p><p>"If we have a football game on Sept. 5 with 25,000 people, then by Sept. 19, we're going to be closing schools again, and kids are going to be learning virtually," Escott said. </p>
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Austin ISD considers delaying first day of school, extending virtual classes
The Austin Independent School Board is considering pushing back the first day of school to Sept. 8 and applying for eight weeks of virtual-only classes, citing "local health conditions" and the fact that COVID-19 disproportionately affects Hispanics, who represent a third of teachers and more than half of the district's students.
<p>The moves will be voted on in a special meeting called for 9 p.m. Thursday night. The meeting, which will be held virtually, will include a <a href="https://go.boarddocs.com/tx/austinisd/Board.nsf/Public" target="_blank">public comment portion</a> at 9:35 p.m. The vote will happen after the public comments. </p><p>The meeting agenda cites the following local health conditions:</p><ul class="ee-ul"><li>High COVID-19 numbers in Travis County (averaging 367 new cases per day in July 2020)</li><li>Current Austin Public Health Risk Guidance places Austin, Travis County in Stage 4</li><li>3-4 people of 1000 are estimated to be infected with a current multiplier of 3</li><li>COVID-19 disproportionately impacts the Hispanic population in the Austin-Travis County area. Some 34 percent of the Austin population is Hispanic, while 57 percent of hospitalizations are among Hispanic patients. Thirty-two percent of AISD staff and 56 percent of students identify as Hispanic, according to agenda documents. </li></ul><p>"This delay will allow for our community to adjust to the latest in-person requirements in the changing health conditions of our city with safety at the forefront of every decision," reads the agenda item on the vote. </p><p>In addition, AISD will limit in-person attendance for the first four weeks of school as already planned but vote Thursday on <a href="https://go.boarddocs.com/tx/austinisd/Board.nsf/Public" target="_blank">whether to ask the state for a waiver </a>to allow an additional four weeks, delaying full access to on-campus instruction through early November. </p><p>Students without access to technology will still be allowed in-person instruction, as per state guidelines, but full access by all students would be delayed if the board approves the action and the state allows it. </p><p>"In the event a board extends the initial four-week transition, at least some on campus instruction must be provided each day during the extended transition period," the agenda reads. </p><p>On Monday, Education Austin, the union representing 3,000 AISD employees, <a href="https://austonia.com/austin-public-schools" target="_self">asked the district to consider pushing back the official first day of school,</a> which Gov. Greg Abbott said was within the rights of local districts, not health officials. </p><p>AISD posted <a href="https://go.boarddocs.com/tx/austinisd/Board.nsf/files/BS63YY0936A1/%24file/Attachment%203%20SY-2020-21-Attendance-and-Enrollment.pdf" target="_blank">this document</a> with frequently asked questions, updated July 30, about attendance, enrollment, class size and more during the upcoming school year. </p><p><a href="https://go.boarddocs.com/tx/austinisd/Board.nsf/Public" target="_blank">Click here</a> to find out more and learn how to participate in the public comment portion of the meeting. </p>
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Gov. Greg Abbott stresses local school officials "know best" whether schools should reopen
04 August
Gov. Greg Abbott stresses local school officials "know best" whether schools should reopen
By Patrick Svitek, The Texas Tribune
Gov. Greg Abbott stressed Tuesday that only local school boards, not local governments, have the power to decide how to open schools this fall during the coronavirus pandemic.
<p>"The bottom line is the people who know best ... about that are the local school officials," <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2020/08/04/texas-greg-abbott-coronavirus-press-conference/" target="_blank">Abbott said during a news conference in San Antonio,</a> echoing a message he's been relaying in response to questions about the process.</p><p>Texas educators and parents have been confused about who has the power to keep school buildings closed. They have also been frustrated by conflicting messages from state and local leaders.</p><p>Abbott also said that in preparation for the new school year, the state has already distributed to schools more than 59 million masks, more than 24,000 thermometers, more than 565,000 gallons of hand sanitizer and more than 500,000 face shields. He promised schools "will have their [personal protective equipment] needs met at no cost" to them, with the state picking up the tab.</p><p>In general, he described the state's personal protective equipment levels as bountiful even as the state faces an "an even greater strain" on the supply due to the coming school reopenings and flu season.</p><p>Abbott and other state leaders have backed a legal opinion from Attorney General <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/directory/ken-paxton/" target="_blank">Ken Paxton</a> that prohibits local health authorities from issuing blanket school closures for all schools in their jurisdiction before the academic year begins. Local school boards can decide to keep schools closed to in-person learning for up to eight weeks, with the possibility to apply for waivers to remain shuttered beyond that timeframe.</p><p>Under the state's guidance, local health officials can only intervene if there is an outbreak once students return to campus, at which point they can temporarily shut down a school.</p><p>Abbott stressed Tuesday that the policy does not mean that local health authorities are cut out of the reopening process, saying local school boards are free to consult with the health experts.</p><p>"Nothing is stopping them from doing that, and they can fully adopt whatever strategy the local public health authority says," Abbott said.</p><p>The state's guidance has overruled orders from local health authorities to keep schools closed to in-person learning for certain periods. For example, Metro Health in Bexar County had ordered schools to remain virtual until Sept. 7.</p><p>As for the personal protective equipment for schools, the Texas State Teachers Association said it was not nearly enough.</p><p>"The governor's optics today on PPE is a drop in the bucket, compared to what will be needed if schools are forced to reopen before it's safe," the union's president, Ovidia Molina, said in a statement. "59.4 million masks are roughly 11 masks per student. That might get students through the first week of school."</p>
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Austin-Travis County Interim Health Authority Dr. Mark Escott ordered all public and private schools within Austin and Travis County not to reopen for on-campus, face-to-face instruction until after Sept. 7. Virtual instruction is allowed.
<p>"This order includes appropriate control measures based on the higher risk for spread of COVID-19 in schools due to the necessity of large groups gathering in indoor spaces and the difficulty for children to follow social distancing and hygiene guidelines," Dr. Escott said in a press release issued Tuesday. </p><p>Schools are also required to develop and submit reopening plans to Dr. Escott—and make them public—at least two weeks before resuming any in-person activities. </p><p>Dr. Escott said continuity will be a challenge for schools as faculty and staff get sick with COVID-19, "as we see every year with influenza." </p><p>Austin City Council approved <a href="https://austonia.com/Coronavirus/icu-medical-austin" target="_self"><u>an ordinance last week</u></a> granting the health authority the right to adopt rules to prevent the spread of COVID-19 through Nov. 12. </p><p>The order arrived shortly after Austin ISD <a href="https://austonia.com/education/austin-isd-delays-in-person-school-for-three-weeks-due-to-covid-19" target="_self"><u>announced</u></a> it would suspend in-person education for the first three weeks of the upcoming school year—or until Sept. 7—due to the pandemic. </p><p>Other school districts, including Round Rock ISD and San Antonio ISD, did the same. </p><p>Even though the case fatality rate among children is very low, there still is a risk of death, Dr. Escott told Travis County commissioners on Tuesday. He estimated between 40 and 1,370 children aged 10 to 19 could die from COVID-19 across Travis County's five public school districts. </p><p>Additionally, teachers and staff are at a much higher risk of contracting and dying from the virus. </p>
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