Texas public school districts risk losing state funding if they shut down campuses solely in response to closure orders issued by local health officials about the coronavirus, the Texas Education Agency announced Tuesday, adding another twist to the weeks-long debate over whether county government leaders can issue such orders.
The reversal in the TEA’s stance brought swift reactions: At least one Bexar County school superintendent talked about a lawsuit, the Boerne Independent School District moved ahead to open schools in two weeks, and some leaders expressed frustration about confusing, even contradictory, directions from the state as coronavirus infections and deaths are increasing by a day.
Until Tuesday, TEA officials had said school districts would continue to receive state funding if legally ordered to close campuses by a local health authority.
The change came hours after Attorney General Ken Paxton released a letter — which is not legally binding — in which he opined that state law does not allow local health authorities to order the closure of schools as a preemptive measure to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.
On July 17, the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District prohibited school districts in Bexar County from returning to classrooms for in-person learning and school-sponsored events and activities, including sports, until Labor Day, Sept. 7. The order cited the higher risk for spread of COVID-19 in schools and the challenge for children in following social distancing and hygiene guidelines. Health officials in the state’s other four largest counties issued similar orders.
Gov. Greg Abbott, who has the power to overrule local closure orders, has not explicitly stated whether he believes local health officials have that power. The TEA’s decision Tuesday, however, renders the local health orders largely moot for public school districts that rely on state funding.
For now, the TEA guidance does not significantly affect many districts in Bexar County that already had pushed their start date until after Labor Day or those beginning their year with online-only classes, an option available under TEA rules for the first eight weeks of school.
However, the guidance could have a longer-term effect if state officials require districts to provide in-person classes to families that want them after those first eight weeks. If the coronavirus surge hasn’t abated, health officials would likely extend orders to keep schools closed. That could put school funding at risk.
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One immediate change in response to the TEA’s announcement was the opening dates for Fair Oaks Ranch and Van Raub elementary schools in the Boerne ISD. Both are located in Bexar County although the rest of the district is in Kendall County. Pursuant to the San Antonio Metro Health order, those schools had been scheduled to teach fully online until Labor Day.
But on Tuesday, Boerne ISD said both schools will open Aug. 12 for the students whose families have chosen in-person learning five days a week — more than 60 percent at each school.
“Thank you to Attorney General Ken Paxton for having confidence in BISD and school districts across Texas to execute our Back to School plans,” the district said in a letter to families. “Thank you, as well, to Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath, along with our State and Local Elected Officials for offering guidance during this process.”
Boerne ISD said it would work with local health directors to track coronavirus cases, conduct contact tracing and develop metrics for closing individual campuses when necessary, the letter said.
Boerne’s decision to break away from Metro Health’s order drew criticism from Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff and San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg.
“They’re doing that because they don’t have trouble up in Boerne, but we’ve got trouble here and these schools are in Bexar County, not in Boerne,” Wolff said, tapping his finger on a table for emphasis during the daily coronavirus briefing. “We should be able to have them comply like the rest of ’em.”
Nirenberg said the coronavirus crisis that has filled San Antonio hospitals affects Boerne residents just the same.
As for the TEA, he said he would hope it is “as concerned about the health of students, teachers and staff of their schools as my medical director is.”
Shortly after the TEA’s announcement, Brian Woods, superintendent of Northside ISD, raised the prospect of a legal challenge to the TEA’s threat to withhold money.
He told the district’s board at a meeting Tuesday evening that “unless something changes very quickly around that guidance, I suspect I will be coming to this board and recommending that we go along with many others I know and seek injunctive relief in a court situation.”
In an interview with Express-News, Woods said he and his district’s lawyers don’t believe Paxton’s opinion is legally binding on the TEA, “but it doesn’t really matter what I think because the agency controls the purse strings and if they think it is legally binding, then obviously they’re going to change the guidance.”
Woods’ concern is that districts such as his — Northside is Bexar County’s largest with nearly 106,000 students — could be faced with a no-win decision, no matter what is happening with coronavirus infections. The same would be true for local health officials.
“We would have the choice of either refusing to comply with the local health order or lose funding. Those would be our two choices,” Woods said.
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The TEA’s new stance doesn’t change the immediate plans of North East or San Antonio ISDs, which will have virtual classes until Labor Day.
“This further substantiates why we need additional time to plan,” Maika said. “The guidance continues to change. Once we think we have a plan, we have to go in another direction. Regardless, we will be ready to provide a safe learning environment for our students and staff.”
In his letter, Paxton said local health authorities cannot preemptively order campus closures for the purposes of preventing COVID-19 outbreaks. He said it’s up to school officials to decide whether, when and how to open schools — not local health authorities whose roles are “limited by statute to addressing specific, actual outbreaks of disease.”
“Education of our children is an essential Texas value and there is no current statewide order prohibiting any school from opening,” Paxton said. “While local health authorities may possess some authority to close schools in limited circumstances, they may not issue blanket orders closing all schools on a purely preventative basis. That decision rightfully remains with school system leaders.”
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Paxton’s guidance came in response to a request for an opinion from Stephenville Mayor Doug Svien.
Over the past three weeks, health authorities in more than a dozen counties and cities have ordered the closure of schools. Irrespective of local closure orders, many school districts already have delayed the start of school until after Labor Day or announced they will begin in August with virtual classes for all students.
Paxton’s letter and the TEA’s new guidance only adds to confusion percolating in recent weeks about the state’s approach to resuming in-person classes.
Early this month, TEA officials said public school districts risk losing funding if they do not offer five days of in-person instruction each week to all families that want it. At the time, TEA leaders said districts could restrict face-to-face classes to students with at-home technology access for the first three weeks of school.
One week later, TEA officials clarified that districts would continue to receive funding if legally ordered to close campuses by a local health authority. Agency officials also changed their guidance to allow districts to limit in-person classes for up to eight weeks to begin the school year.
In interviews this month, Gov. Greg Abbott has said local school leaders will have the authority to decide when to reopen buildings. However, he did not directly answer questions from Hearst Newspapers on whether he will allow closure orders issued by local health authorities to stand.
The Texas State Teachers Association on Tuesday pushed back on Paxton’s letter, saying he was sending a “conflicting message” to school districts, students, parents and employees.
“The Texas State Teachers Association has more confidence in the professionalism of local health officials and their determination to act in the best interests of all Texans, including our children,” President Ovidia Molina said
“We have less confidence in Ken Paxton, whose primary goal as attorney general has been to advance an ideological agenda. Now, he is promoting President Trump’s election-year demands that school campuses reopen prematurely, regardless of the price that educators, students and their families may pay.”
The San Antonio Alliance of Teachers and Support Personnel, representing non-administrative employees in SAISD, had claimed a limited victory when the state extended the time that schools were allowed to teach remotely.
“Now we’re seeing them regroup and come back at us,” said Alejandra Lopez, the union’s president.
“It is extremely frustrating and scary that someone who holds this office feels like they have to come out and curb local communities from doing the very few things we are able to do, at this point, to stop the stress on our health resources and, literally, to prevent death,” she said.
The union has been pushing for school reopenings to be guided by objective metrics, including a virus test positivity rate below 5 percent. If those metrics aren’t met before Labor Day, many teachers were hoping Metro Health would extend its school closure order. Now it’s not clear Metro Health would have the power to do so.
“These are community decisions,” Lopez said. “Community health needs to be driven at the community and city level. It should not come down to individual districts.”
Krista Torralva covers several school districts and public universities in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. To read more from Krista, become a subscriber. Krista.Torralva@express-news.net | Twitter: @KMTorralva |
Alia Malik covers several school districts and the Alamo Colleges District in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. To read more from Alia, become a subscriber. amalik@express-news.net | Twitter: @AliaAtSAEN
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