TEA RELEASES GUIDANCE

TEA Releases New Guidance Regarding Online Instruction

During a recent meeting with Superintendents state-wide, the Texas Education Agency provided an update which would grant school districts the authority to evaluate the effectiveness of student performance and attendance for students who currently participate in online classes.
Using the guidance provided by TEA, school districts must study student grades and attendance participation during these past weeks to determine whether they will be required to transition to face-to-face instruction in the coming weeks. “As part of our goal to ensure an effective learning environment, explained SFDRCISD superintendent Dr. Carlos Rios, we have studied student grades and report card results district-wide. As a result, we have discovered that there is an overwhelming number of students failing online classes.” Under the authority granted by TEA, SFDRCISD will be forced to limit the number of students who can continue to participate in online classes. Effective November 16, 2020, (the beginning of the 3rd six-weeks), the District will implement the following measures:

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1. Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten students who have accumulated 3 or more absences in a two-week period will be required to return to school for face-to-face learning.
2. Students in 1st – 5th grade with an overall average lower than a 70 (in the four core content area classes) at the end of any six weeks will be required to return to school for face-to-face learning.
3. Students in 1st – 5th grade who have accumulated 3 or more absences in a two-week period will also be required to return to school for face-to-face instruction, regardless of their grades; and
4. Students in 6th – 12th grade who are failing 3 or more classes will be required to return to school for face-to-face learning.

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Students who meet any of the criteria listed above will receive a letter from the school. Students will be required to return to in-person learning two weeks from the date of this letter. Additional information regarding the TEA Commissioner’s Update will be presented during the regular school board meeting on Monday, November 16, 2020. The meeting, which begins at 6:00 p.m., can be viewed online on the school district’s website at www.sfdr-cisd.org, the SFDR You Tube Channel, Facebook, or the SFDRCISD public access channel on Spectrum Channel 1301.