The Austin ISD Board of Trustees met on September 28 to discuss the plans for the return to in-person school on October 5 and to vote on a proposed change to the 2019-2020 school calendar.

When students and staff return to in-person school, they will be required to undergo a screening process. Any student or staff member who fails the screening test will be required to stay at home until they meet the criteria to return to school. Mark Escott, the City of Austin Interim Health Authority, said at the meeting that he supports Austin ISD’s plan for reopening schools on the 5th.

“I believe that if the community is engaged together in making sure the schools stay safe, by screening themselves before they leave the house and by being actively engaged in the masking and social distancing, inside the classroom and outside the classroom, not only will this be successful now, we can continue to keep the schools open throughout the semester,” Escott said.

Most Austin ISD families have opted to continue learning at home because of the pandemic. Survey data provided at the board meeting showed that 76 percent of parents with high school students selected to continue virtual learning, while 15 percent selected the in-person option. However, just 57 percent of parents with elementary students selected the virtual learning option, with 43 percent choosing to return to school in-person.

“There’s interest in returning to face-to-face [learning] and getting back on campus, and we know and our families know that our students, particularly in elementary school, learn better when they have that face-to-face instruction,” Austin ISD Chief Equity Officer Stephanie Hawley said. “We’re responding to family needs, to what people are saying they need for their children.”

Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde confirmed that virtual learning will be offered for the 2020-21 school year.

“For the remainder of the 2020-21 school year, virtual instruction will be available to parents throughout the year,” Elizalde said. “Even if they come on campus and then choose to go back [to] virtual, it will be available throughout the 2020-21 school year, absolutely without [a] doubt.”

Concerns have been raised over the safety of teachers returning to school during the pandemic. Austin ISD is allowing teachers who meet the eligibility to continue to work from home to do so, as long as their request is approved by the district. As of September 28, 925 teacher remote work requests were made. Out of those 925, only 504 were approved, and nine were denied. Trustee Yasmin Wagner asked Dr. Elizalde about how teacher accommodations are being met during COVID-19.

“What I am fearful of is that we get so stuck in objectivity that we lose the humanness of the subjectivity of people’s situations,” Wagner said. “Ultimately, these are human beings who are trying to care for their own health and needs.”