EPISD Votes To Approve TEA Wavier To Delay Return To Classroom

With COVID-19 numbers going crazy in El Paso County, most of our local school districts had asked for waivers from the Texas Education Agency to postpone bringing students, teachers, and staff back for in-classroom learning until later in the fall semester. The El Paso Independent School District went a step further and earlier this month asked the TEA if they could postpone in-classroom learning until the spring semester.

They got their answer on Monday afternoon when TEA officials gave the district the option to extend virtual learning at home for students until Monday, November 9. TEA officials also said that they would monitor the COVID-19 numbers in El Paso on a week-to-week basis.

District trustees during their regular Tuesday meeting approved the waiver from the TEA. That means that online learning at home for students will continue until at least Friday, November 6. In addition to approving the waiver, EPISD trustees also voted in favor of district administrators going after more waivers to continue to postpone the return to in-classroom learning for students.

EPISD officials have been vocal about wanting the fall semester to take place completely online with a return to in-classroom learning to happen in the spring semester, but to do that, they will have to continue petitioning the TEA throughout the fall semester.

If and when kids do go back to in-classroom learning in the fall semester only the families who chose for their kid to go back to in-person learning will have to return to the classroom. If you opted for your child to stay at home for virtual learning, they will continue online.