San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Texas lets public schools conduct remote teaching
Texas is giving public schools permission to keep campuses closed for more than 5 million students well into the fall as the state scrambles to contain one of the largest resurgences of the coronavirus in the country.
The state last week reported more than 10,000 new cases for four consecutive days. The new education policy also follows a backlash from teachers and parents who criticized Texas’ earlier timeline that had students returning to classrooms by August or September as rushed and reckless.
Under the new guidelines, Texas schools could hold onlineonly instruction for up to the first eight weeks of the school year, potentially pushing a return to campus in some cities until November.
President Trump and his administration have demanded that schools fully reopen right from the start, calling for new guidance from federal health officials and slamming schools that want to bring students back for only a few days a week.
The Texas Education Agency said students who are not equipped for virtual learning, particularly those whose families lack reliable internet access or a computer, will still be entitled to oncampus instruction once the school year begins.
SOUTH CAROLINA
Hospital beds filling rapidly
Some hospital officials in South Carolina say the state is just weeks away from a COVID19 medical crisis unless a spike of cases in the state slows down.
The number of hospitalized patients is increasing rapidly, while more nurses and other workers are being infected, said Dr. Wendell James of Prisma Health in Greenville.
James says Greenville hospitals can handle the surge unabated for only about two more weeks.
South Carolina had more than 1,500 people hospitalized with the virus at the end of the week, nearly 1,000 more than a month ago.
IOWA
Governor wants kids in classrooms
Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds says she will require students to spend at least half of their schooling in classrooms despite the threat to teachers, students and their families from the surge in coronavirus cases in the state.
Reynolds’ proclamation Friday drew immediate criticism from the state teachers union, which called it shortsighted.
Reynolds’ decision invalidates the plans of some districts, including Des Moines, which planned to limit inperson classes to one day a week for most students, with online learning on other days.
FLORIDA
Whistleblower complaint filed
Rebekah Jones, the Florida coronavirus data scientist who was fired in early May for alleged insubordination, has filed a whistleblower complaint against the Florida Department of Health, saying that she was removed from her post for refusing to falsify data.
The complaint comes during a surge in virus infections. Gov. Ron DeSantis has denied the allegations of data falsification. But Jones has continued to question the veracity of Florida’s coronavirus statistics.