Association of Texas Professional Educator responds to Education Agency's conditional funding guarantee

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) announced on Oct. 1 that it would provide Texas school districts an additional six-week extension to its minimum funding guarantee on the condition that districts offer in-person instruction to families that request it.

The Association of Texas Professional Educators (ATPE) posted a release on their website stating that while they are grateful for the extension, ATPE believes that TEA is attempting to assume the role of qualified health authorities by making critical funding conditional on being open for 100% in-person education.

“Since schools have opened around the country, the percentage of new COVID-19 cases in the school-aged population has increased, according to a recent report by the American Academy of Pediatrics,” said ATPE Senior Lobbyist Monty Exter. “Just last week, TEA itself recognized that there are currently existing COVID-19 hotspots in Texas that warrant a delay in returning to in-person classes.”

On Sept. 24, TEA announced new guidelines indicating that it would consider local health conditions in “COVID-19 danger zones” should school boards in those areas seek to continue virtual learning beyond the eight weeks currently allowed. ATPE believes that the Oct. 1 message seemingly undermines that messaging by suggesting that districts hit hardest by the pandemic might be denied necessary funding.

ATPE believes that local districts, under the guidance of qualified health professionals, should decide the speed at which to increase in-person capacity. This approach would provide districts the ability to bring back students most in need of in-person teaching without subjecting them to the risk of a 100% capacity order.

School districts should not be financially penalized for making decisions to protect the health and safety of their students and staff.