At least two Central Texas school districts are discontinuing online classes in the fall after a bill to continue funding remote learning programs died in the closing hours of the legislative session.
Acting Round Rock Superintendent Daniel Presley said the district had counted on House Bill 1468 to offer a virtual option for families with health concerns amid the coronavirus pandemic.
But the district announced Thursday it is planning for a full return to in-person, face-to-face instruction and activities.
The Hays school district also is scrapping plans for a virtual learning option, district spokesman Tim Savoy said in a statement.
Austin school district officials had expressed support for the legislation, and said they were still reviewing the implications of its demise.
Rep. James Talarico on sine die at the 87th Texas Legislature (Photo by John Anderson)
After a contentious legislative session, public education ended up with a mixed bag of stable funding and conservative micromanagement. Bills awaiting Gov.
Greg Abbott s signature will severely curtail the ways teachers can discuss social issues, limit the reach of sexuality education, and enshrine the ability of affluent parent-teacher associations to pay for extra staff, reversing
Austin ISD s recent equity-driven ban on the practice. A bill that would have guaranteed that districts could offer virtual learning this fall didn t make it out of the Senate on the last day, collateral damage from the Democratic walkout.
Bad faith denial and delay. Democrats shame Texas for stalling $17.9B in school funding
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FILE - In this Feb. 5, 2019 file photo, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, right, gives his State of the State address as Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, left, listens in the House Chamber in Austin, Texas. A year after a high school mass shooting near Houston that remains one of the deadliest in U.S. history, Texas lawmakers are close to going home without passing any new gun restrictions, or even tougher firearm storage laws that Gov. Abbott had backed after the tragedy. A GOP governor pushing even a small restriction on firearm owners in gun-friendly Texas was a landmark shift after decades of loosening regulations. But it was met with a severe rebuke from gun-rights advocates. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)Eric Gay, STF / Associated Press
Texas officials have yet to distribute $17.9 billion earmarked for schools in the last two federal coronavirus relief packages, even as their counterparts in other states have begun to direct federal dollars meant to help schools and students hit hard by the pandemic.
The delay has some school administrators and advocates concerned that Texas officials have other plans for the money: supplanting state funding already in draft budgets working their way through the Legislature.
Gov. Greg Abbott requested a waiver in February for $5.5 billion of the relief money the portion approved in December from a requirement that states spend the same proportion of the state budget on education as before the pandemic.
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