State Leadership Announces Funding For Texas Schools
As schools continue to deal with the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic and a fall in attendance, Governor Greg Abbott, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, and House Speaker Dade Phelan, along with the TEA, came together to announce that the State of Texas will provide a "hold harmless" to Texas school systems.
This will impact the 2020-2021 academic year only according to a press release from the Governor's office.
The announcement means that school systems will have funds made available to them even if they have seen enrollment and attendance declines due to COVID-19. School systems do have to maintain current levels of on campus attendance. The announcement also means that Texas school systems have been held harmless for the last three semesters.
"As more districts return to in-person instruction, we are ensuring that schools are not financially penalized for declines in attendance due to COVID-19," said Governor Abbott. "Providing a hold harmless for the remainder of the 2020-2021 school year is a crucial part of our state's commitment to supporting our school systems and teachers and getting more students back in the classroom."
"My goal is to get all of our students back in the classroom and this hold harmless funding will ensure our public schools can complete the school year and continue to bring students back to campuses for in-person learning. As always, we are grateful to those teachers across the state who have worked tirelessly during the pandemic to keep our students on track," said Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick.
"The State of Texas is committed to getting more students back into the classroom for in-person instruction and fully funding our schools – despite challenges that occurred as a result of COVID-19. I fully support the decision to provide necessary funding and maintain our commitment to Texas schools," said Speaker Dade Phelan.
Texas leadership is hoping that more and more students will be returning to the classroom this year.
LOOK: Answers to 30 common COVID-19 vaccine questions
While much is still unknown about the coronavirus and the future, what is known is that the currently available vaccines have gone through all three trial phases and are safe and effective. It will be necessary for as many Americans as possible to be vaccinated in order to finally return to some level of pre-pandemic normalcy, and hopefully these 30 answers provided here will help readers get vaccinated as soon they are able.
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