Dear Governor Abbott and Commissioner Morath — Safe Return to In-Person Instruction (August 13, 2021)

Summary

This is a letter dated August 13, 2021 from the Secretary of Education to Greg Abbott, Governor, and Mike Morath, Commissioner of the Texas Education Agency. It says Texas's recent actions to block school districts from voluntarily adopting science-based strategies for preventing the spread of COVID-19 that are aligned with CDC guidance put at risk the goal of a safe return to in-person instruction and may infringe upon a school district's authority to adopt protective policies. It refers to an Executive Order in Texas prohibiting local educational agencies from adopting universal mask requirements and to August 5, 2021 Texas Education Agency guidance that school systems are not required to conduct COVID-19 contact tracing. The letter says the American Rescue Plan Act requires each LEA receiving ARP ESSER funds to adopt a plan for the safe return to in-person instruction.

Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used

Issuer: Congressional materials
Document type: Department Of Education Texas Www Ed Gov 75109E0Bf4
Case: Department Of Education Texas Www Ed Gov 75109E0Bf4

Cite this document

“Dear Governor Abbott and Commissioner Morath — Safe Return to In-Person Instruction (August 13, 2021).” Original at www.ed.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/department-of-education-texas-www-ed-gov-75109e0bf4/, SHA-256 86d38cff4b775592f6270877fbed6e75083fab95a3d54001c153a0bc570fb717.

Full text

                                        THE SECRETARY OF EDUCATION
                                              WASHINGTON, DC 20202



                                                 August 13, 2021

The Honorable Greg Abbott                             The Honorable Mike Morath
Governor                                              Commissioner
The Capitol                                           Texas Education Agency
PO Box 12428                                          1701 N. Congress Avenue
Austin, TX 78711                                      Austin, TX 78701

Dear Governor Abbott and Commissioner Morath:

        As the new school year begins in school districts across Texas, it is our shared priority
that students return to in-person instruction safely. The safe return to in-person instruction
requires that school districts be able to protect the health and safety of students and educators,
and that families have confidence that their schools are doing everything possible to keep
students healthy. Texas’s recent actions to block school districts from voluntarily adopting
science-based strategies for preventing the spread of COVID-19 that are aligned with the
guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) puts these goals at
risk and may infringe upon a school district’s authority to adopt policies to protect
students and educators as they develop their safe return to in-person instruction plans
required by Federal law.

       We are aware that Texas has issued an Executive Order prohibiting local educational
agencies (LEAs), among other local government entities, from adopting requirements for the
universal wearing of masks. 1 Further, guidance released on August 5, 2021, by the Texas
Education Agency (TEA) states that “school systems are not required to conduct COVID-19
contact tracing.” 2

        These State level actions against science-based strategies for preventing the spread of
COVID-19 appear to restrict the development of local health and safety policies and are at odds
with the school district planning process embodied in the U.S. Department of Education’s
(Department’s) interim final requirements. As you know, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021
(ARP Act) requires each LEA that receives Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief
(ARP ESSER) funds to adopt a plan for the safe return to in-person instruction and continuity of
services. (See section 2001(i).) The Department’s interim final requirements clarify that such
plan “must describe…how [the LEA] will maintain the health and safety of students, educators,
and other staff and the extent to which it has adopted policies, and a description of any such
policies, on each of the following safety recommendations established by the CDC…” The safety
recommendations include “universal and correct wearing of masks” and “contact tracing in
combination with isolation and quarantine, in collaboration with the [appropriate] health
departments.”


1
  See: https://gov.texas.gov/uploads/files/press/EO-GA-
36_prohibition_on_mandating_face_coverings_response_to_COVID-19_disaster_IMAGE_05-18-2021.pdf.
2
  See: https://tea.texas.gov/sites/default/files/covid/SY-20-21-Public-Health-Guidance.pdf.
         The Department is concerned that Texas’s actions could limit each LEA’s ability under
the ARP Act to adopt a plan for the safe return to in-person instruction and continuity of services
that the LEA determines adequately protects students and educators by following CDC guidance.
The Department recognizes that several LEAs in your State have already moved to adopt
such policies in line with guidance from the CDC for the reopening and operation of school
facilities despite the State-level prohibitions. The Department stands with these dedicated
educators who are working to safely reopen schools and maintain safe in-person
instruction.

        The Department also emphasizes that it is within an LEA’s discretion to use ARP ESSER
funds for contact tracing, implementing indoor masking policies, or other policies aligned with
CDC guidance. Section 2001(e)(2)(Q) of the ARP Act explicitly gives LEAs the authority to use
ARP ESSER funds (as well as ESSER funds granted through prior relief funding) for
“developing strategies and implementing public health protocols including, to the greatest extent
practicable, policies in line with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
for the reopening and operation of school facilities to effectively maintain the health and safety
of students, educators, and other staff.”

        As mentioned in my call to Commissioner Morath on July 16 and Governor Abbott on
August 6, we are eager to partner with Texas on any efforts to further our shared goals of
protecting the health and safety of students and educators. In addition, the Department will
continue to closely review and monitor whether Texas is meeting all of its Federal fiscal
requirements. It’s critical that we do everything in our power to provide a safe environment for
our students and staff to thrive.

                                                     Sincerely,



                                                     Miguel A. Cardona, Ed.D.

File and source

File: department-of-education-texas-www-ed-gov-75109e0bf4.pdf
Size: 184,461 bytes
SHA-256: 86d38cff4b775592f6270877fbed6e75083fab95a3d54001c153a0bc570fb717
Our copy: department-of-education-texas-www-ed-gov-75109e0bf4.pdf
Original: www.ed.gov