SAN ANGELO, Texas — Governor Abbott announced on June 18 that students in Texas will be returning to schools in person this fall.
Although specific plans have not been finalized, the San Angelo Independent School District released a statement saying they will follow the guidance from Governor Abbott and the Texas Education Agency (TEA).
The statement reads: "On June 18th, 2020, Governor Abbott notified lawmakers of the plan to return to campuses in the fall for the 2020-2021 school year. San Angelo ISD will follow the guidance from Governor Abbott and the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to return to on-campus instruction with optional flexibility for families with health concerns. On June 12, 2020, San Angelo ISD released a survey to parents and staff to gather input as we prepare for the 2020-2021 school year. This input helps the San Angelo ISD administrators prepare for the flexible options Governor Abbott mentioned for back to school based on public health data and data from the survey. We are still gathering information from this survey and plan to release more details on the upcoming school year options as soon as possible."
The Abilene Independent School District conducted a survey to gauge employee, parent and community concerns about the return of face-to-face instruction in the fall. Nearly half of the staff and half of the parents said they felt comfortable going back to work and sending their children back to school without precautions, however a quarter of the parents said they will wait until the pandemic is over, according to the survey's results.
The Texas Education Agency is going to release additional guidance for school districts on Tuesday, June 24.