CORONAVIRUS
Abbott: School boards’ control overrules local health officials.
SAN ANTONIO — Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday reiterated that school boards have authority to overrule advisories from local public health officials in setting when schools reopen and when students go back to in-classroom learning during the pandemic.
“It really is the responsibility of and the necessity of the locally elected school boards that are responsive to the teachers, to the parents, to the students, to the public, to make the decision that is best for the school,” Abbott said during a news briefing at a warehouse in San Antonio used for shipping personal protection equipment to school districts across Texas to protect against the spread of COVID-19.
Abbott said the school boards can take input from local public health officials, but if there is a disagreement, “the local school district will prevail.”
His remarks met with a sharp rebuke from the Texas State Teachers Association, which represents 60,000 teachers and support staff.
“The governor needs to stop passing the buck to local school boards on when to reopen and should mandate no district start in-person instruction before Sept. 8 and then only when it is safe to do so,” said the group’s president, Ovidia Molina, in a statement.
The governor’s guidance on school reopenings has been met with confusion in many parts of the state. At least one Bexar County school superintendent has talked about suing over the directives, the Boerne Independent School District moved ahead to open schools in two weeks, and some leaders expressed frustration about confusing — and even contradictory — mandates from state and local governments as coronavirus infections and deaths continue to increase.
The San Antonio Metropolitan Health District had earlier issued an order that prohibited in-person instruction in Bexar County schools until after Sept. 7, Labor Day. The health district has since recast its order as a recommendation.
San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg and Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff have said they hope school districts will honor such advisories and use remote instruction to avoid continuing spread of the coronavirus.
Abbott said Tuesday he doesn’t see any confusion in his orders. Abbott said he’s convinced he’s been clear in his directives already, but if need be, he said he’s prepared to issue an executive order to make it more clear.
“If they want me to issue an executive order, I can cut and paste what we issued and sign it,” Abbott said.
Abbott was referring to a joint letter he issued last week along with key members of the Legislature that stressed it was up to local school districts to make the decision on how and when schools open. But schools that decline to open without approval from the Texas Education Agency risk losing state funding.
Molina, the leader of the state teachers association, said Abbott is minimizing the pressure the state is putting on districts to reopen for classroom learning.
“The governor continues to ignore the fact that when schools do start, the Texas Education Agency will require districts to offer in-person instruction to students who request it, putting those students, school employees and families at risk,” her statement said.
Abbott was asked by reporters if people should take guidance from him and politicians over doctors in sending kids back to school.
“This is not my decision and no one is having to place trust or non-trust in me,” he said. “Very important, the decision is made by local school boards and superintendents.”
State Sen. Paul Bettencourt, RHouston, said all that Abbott and other state officials are doing is trying to block local officials from overstepping their authority and handcuffing local school boards who were left as little more than spectators as some counties were talking about closing schools well into October.
Specifically, he said there are 17 counties where local officials were essentially going to block school re-openings for 3.2 million students without any input from school districts, who are supposed to have authority.
“Let the school districts try to open under the plan offered by the Texas Education Agency which has a lot of built in flexibility for either virtual or in-classroom learning,” Bettencourt said. “What we cannot have is local health departments jumping the gun and taking their focus away from hotspot clean up.”
Abbott, who was just a few blocks from Walzem Elementary School in San Antonio, said a key is to make sure school boards have flexibility. He said if outbreaks occur during the return to school, districts can close buildings for 5 days to disinfect while still doing distance learning.
He said as the state reopens schools, the health and safety of students, teachers and parents is “the absolute top priority.”
Nim Kidd, the state’s director of emergency management, said the warehouse where Abbott was speaking Tuesday is one of 40 around the state that are stocked with personal protection equipment that has been being distributed statewide.
Already more than 132 million masks, and nearly 33 million gloves have been distributed around the state. Almost 60 million of those masks have been distributed to schools along with nearly 568,000 gallons of hand sanitizer.
That state has ordered over $1 billion of equipment and almost $600 million already received. Another $400 million is set to be delivered in the next 60 days, Kidd said.