AUSTIN, Texas — A group concerned with how Round Rock ISD is handling COVID-19 gathered for a rally outside the Texas Governor’s Mansion on Sunday.
The protest was organized by the group Access Education RRISD, which describes itself as “a local, grassroots organization of engaged, concerned Round Rock ISD parents and community members organizing in our community.”
According to a petition to TEA Commissioner Mike Morath and Gov. Greg Abbott, the group is asking the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to give schools the resources to combat COVID-19, including:
- Instructional hour waivers for districts forced to close schools due to staffing and public health concerns
- Instructional hour waivers for school districts with low attendance due to absences related to COVID-19 that allow those school districts to avoid financial consequences of complying with local health authority guidance
- Hybrid/remote learning waivers for schools that wish to offer remote instruction to protect students, staff and community from COVID-19.
“The TEA is placing our schools in financial peril to force them to remain open as student and teacher absences soar due to Covid,” the group writes.
Sunday’s protest began at 2 p.m. outside the Governor’s Mansion at 1010 Colorado St. Organizers asked those attending to wear a mask.
On Thursday night, more than a dozen Round Rock ISD students confronted school board members demanding stricter COVID-19 safety protocols. Earlier in the day, dozens of students walked out of school in protest.
A separate petition calling for changes has garnered more than 1,800 student signatures and more than 600 parent and faculty signatures as of Sunday morning.
Their main requests are that there should be a virtual option for students unless the district can enforce its mask mandate and that the district should provide high-quality masks, give students outdoor eating options even when it rains, have more testing options and start conducting contact tracing again – something the students say is not happening at the middle or high school levels.
The State of Texas will only fund virtual learning if no more than 10% of the school is taking part. Students think the district should take advantage of even that small percentage who could learn virtually.
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