Texas schools now must notify families of positive COVID-19 cases in classrooms

Aug 19, 2021 | View in browser Join us at the 2021 Texas Tribune Festival, happening virtually from Sept. 20-25. At TribFest, you’ll get the latest on COVID-19, Texas politics and more with big-thinking interviews and nuanced discussions curated by The Texas Tribune’s award-winning journalists. Learn more. The Texas Supreme Court will allow mask mandates in school districts to remain — for now. But the issue could easily return to the court sometime soon.  The Supreme Court's order Thursday temporarily allows school districts to require face coverings because it leaves in place previous temporary restraining orders issued by a Travis County judge, whom Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton wanted the high court to overrule. The court’s order cited a provision that typically requires matters to go to an appellate court before it reaches the state's highest civil court.  So while the Supreme Court declined to axe those mandates in school districts today, justices could easily get another opportunity to review the legal battle over Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order banning mask mandates sometime soon.  In the past two weeks, Abbott and Paxton have sought to stem the tide of cities, counties and school districts challenging the governor’s pandemic executive order and putting their own mask mandates in place.  Meanwhile, Texas school districts must now notify teachers, staff and students’ families of positive COVID-19 cases in classrooms or extracurricular or after-school programs, the Texas Education Agency announced in updated public health guidance Thursday. This is a change from the TEA’s previous guidance, which didn’t explicitly require school districts to notify parents of a close contact with the virus. Districts must still report positive cases to their local health departments and the state. Local health officials are also allowed to investigate COVID-19 cases in schools. The TEA is maintaining that it will not issue guidance on mask requirements until legal challenges on those mandates are resolved. And at the same time, several rural school districts are temporarily closing classrooms altogether as the pandemic spreads rapidly in small communities that often lack big-city health care resources. In other COVID-19 news: Texas is sending more relief medical workers to hospitals while opening more COVID-19 antibody infusion centers. A San Antonio school district that made COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory for teachers and staff has drawn a court challenge from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Rice University in Houston is starting the fall semester two days later than previously scheduled and shifting all classes online for the first two weeks. RESOURCES Paywall content noted with $. THE TEXAS TRIBUNE Where are most of the coronavirus cases in Texas? How have the number of cases increased each day? Our data team answers these questions and others with maps, tables and charts. READ MORE SPONSOR MESSAGES Join the San Antonio Housing Authority to review the 87th Texas Legislative Session and its implications for affordable housing. Texas Conference for Women - Join networking expert and Luminary founder Cate Luzio for a timely conversation around how to network virtually. Love this newsletter? Show us with your donation. Have a friend you think would love it, too? Send them here to sign up. Manage your email preferences or unsubscribe from ALL Tribune emails. This email was sent to majormajor33@yahoo.com. To contact The Texas Tribune, visit texastribune.org/contact. The Texas Tribune 919 Congress Avenue 6th Floor Austin, TX 78701 USA