State Releases COVID Guidance for New School Year
Survey Says Quarter of LG Parents Don’t Want In-Person Classes
The Texas Education Agency released guidance to school districts last week about how schools will reopen this Fall semester amidst the coronavirus pandemic.
The State will require all schools to provide on-campus instruction in the Fall. In addition, the TEA will authorize schools to offer remote learning and on-campus/remote hybrid programs. The TEA said it anticipates that some parents will want their kids to begin school with remote learning, but may want their kids to return to campus later on. Accordingly, TEA said schools should design remote and hybrid programs so that students can transition back to campus.
La Grange ISD Superintendent Bill Wagner told the Record on Friday that LGISD has not yet established its plan for the upcoming school year. But he said the school hopes to finalize those plans and announce them during the week of July 20.
“We are not at a place yet to release those guidelines as they are a work in progress,” Wagner said.
Wagner said parents will have to commit to face-to-face instruction or virtual learning by sometime around July 30. School is scheduled to start in La Grange on Aug. 13. Wagner said parents will have to commit two weeks before school starts to one option or the other.
La Grange ISD sent out a survey recently asking parents if they want their children to attend school on campus in the Fall. About 78 percent of district parents responded. Of those, 75 percent said they wanted their kids to start school in-person on Aug. 13.
“We will be sending out another survey in the next week or so to see where parents are standing with the end of July coming,” Wagner said.
As LGISD’s survey indicates, a sizable minority of parents do not want their kids in school this Fall. Many are considering homeschool as an alternative.
A meeting was held Tuesday in La Grange for parents interested in homeschooling their children in the fall. Local homeschool mother Brianne Bernsen gave a talk about homeschooling options for parents. About 16 parents attended the meeting inperson. Organizers encouraged people to stay home and watch the meeting on Facebook Live in order to allow for social distancing. As of Friday, that video had been viewed 1,500 times.