Summer school can be in person, but Fort Worth area districts are staying online
Summer school will be online only in some of Tarrant County’s largest districts, even though Gov. Greg Abbott has allowed classes to resume in person with social distancing.
Schools that offer in-person classes can’t require that students attend. Students and teachers must stay six feet apart and groups are limited to 11 people. Group projects that would require two or more students to spend time less than six feet apart are discouraged, according to the Texas Education Agency.
There should be no assemblies, field trips or other gatherings outside class, and the TEA recommends meeting outside to prevent the potential for the virus to spread.
The Fort Worth school district will stick to virtual learning, but will consider bringing in certain students for in-person instruction, spokesman Clint Bond said.
Arlington’s summer school will be exclusively online, spokeswoman Anita Foster said Tuesday.
Hurst-Euless-Bedford’s school district has not finalized plans, but the intention Tuesday was to offer virtual learning over the summer, spokeswoman Deanne Hullender said.
The Eagle Mountain-Saginaw and Mansfield school districts will also hold online-only summer school.
Eagle Mountain-Saginaw will offer accelerated high school programs for $200 per half credit and SAT and ACT test prep for $100 per review course.
Mansfield’s accelerated summer courses will be online for $150 per half credit. Credit recovery courses are free for students on the free lunch program, $50 per half credit for students on the reduced lunch program and $100 for all other students.
In a statement Wednesday, the Texas State Teachers Association said June 1 was too early to reopen schools. The association has a list of safety requirements it believes the state should require before schools are allowed to open, president Noel Candelaria said.
“These requirements follow the guidelines originally recommended by the Centers for Disease Control, not the politically watered-down version released by the White House. Our requirements also reflect concerns expressed by our members who, unlike the governor, will be required to reenter school buildings when campuses are reopened,” he said.
“We are demanding, among other things, adequate supplies of protective gear for everyone in every school work place, steps that must be taken to enforce social distancing and sanitation practices and strong enforcement. Half-hearted enforcement will endanger students and educators, and our members will not stand for it on their campuses.”
This story was originally published May 20, 2020 at 11:36 AM.