Announced yesterday, the superintendent will file for a TEA waiver “to extend the opportunity to remain in a virtual capacity for an additional four weeks.” We organized, and the district heard us loud and clear: the safety of our students, staff, and community is our only priority. Thank you to everyone who took action with us.
To clarify some confusion, here’s what you need to know:
- This is a win. On Monday, the superintendent said she would not apply for the waiver. Between Tuesday morning and Wednesday afternoon, our members and community members sent over 1,600 emails to the school board and parents spoke out at our press conference. By Wednesday evening, she announced that she would file for the waiver. The action taken by our community to ensure a safe reopening was resounding.
- The waiver does not provide for 100% virtual learning. Currently, some in-person learning is already happening for identified students. But the waiver allows the district to continue to restrict access to in-person learning, even if requested by a student.
- This is not perfect. But importantly, it gives more time to get a real plan in place and get answers to the myriad of questions facing us.
We remain deeply concerned about how the operations of our schools during in-person learning will look. As of now, there are too many unanswered questions and the protocols for in-person learning must be well-communicated, understood by the community, and created with safety first. The fight continues.
