As omicron surges, here’s what Fort Worth schools can and can’t do to keep kids safe
As students return to school Wednesday amid a surge of COVID-19 cases, the Fort Worth school district said it will maintain its safety protocols of encouraging masks and social distancing and providing PPE, district spokesperson Claudia Garibay said.
Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive orders and a lawsuit limit what the school district can do as cases rise.
As of Tuesday, Tarrant County school officials had not announced changes to their protocols or learning format.
Some school districts outside of the state have returned to temporary remote learning or have extended winter break because of a shortage of staff members.
The Fort Worth district has reported 125 positive COVID cases among employees for the month of January and 192 total employee quarantines for the month. In December, the district reported 104 positive cases and 177 total employee quarantines.
District officials are ready to deploy a substitute teacher bonus program in case of staff shortages, Garibay said. If a teacher substitute or teacher assistant substitute works 15-19 days within six weeks, they could earn $400. They could earn $550 for working 20 to 24 days and earn $750 for working 25 days or more.
What is the district allowed to do?
School districts in Texas are prohibited from taking certain safety measures, such as mandating vaccines and masks for teachers and students. Many school districts have defied the state’s mask mandate prohibition, and some, like Dallas, have announced the extension of their mask requirements to combat the spread of the virus.
But the Fort Worth school district is not allowed to require face coverings because of a lawsuit brought by four Fort Worth parents in August. A trial date is set for Jan. 17. The district is prohibited from establishing a mandate at least until then.
School districts across the state now have the funding to establish virtual learning programs, but the state requires students learning outside the classroom to have passed their STAAR exams, earned a C grade or higher in certain courses and have no more than 10% unexcused absences the previous year.
Lancaster schools will go remotely during the first week of the spring semester.
The Fort Worth school district has a temporary virtual learning option for 2,000 medically vulnerable kindergarten through sixth grade students.
School districts are also limited in their ability to push back class start times. The state requires school districts to have 75,600 minutes of instruction in a school year, roughly 158 days of learning. Each school district has a few recovery days it can add to its calendar to make up for instruction, but those are typically reserved for weather.
Rio Grande Valley school districts announced the extension of winter break on Monday.
On Tuesday, Fort Worth schools superintendent Kent Scribner released a statement saying the district will continue to follow their safety protocols and highlighted new district testing sites:
- Scarborough-Handley Fieldhouse
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 8-11:30 a.m.
6201 Craig St.
Fort Worth, TX 76112
- FWISD Transportation Center
Mondays, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
6300 Wichita St.
Fort Worth, TX 76119 - Riverside Family Resource Center at Riverside Middle School
Tuesdays, 4-6 p.m.
1550 Bolton St.
Fort Worth, TX 76111
- Forest Oak Family Resource Center at Forest Oak Middle School
Wednesdays, 4-6 p.m.
3250 Pecos St.
Fort Worth, TX 76119
- Northside Family Resource Center at J.P. Elder Middle School
Thursdays, 4-6 p.m.
2011 Prospect Ave.
Fort Worth, TX 76164
This story was originally published January 4, 2022 at 4:36 PM.
