TEA, DSHS TO TRACK COVID-19 CASES IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS STARTING IN SEPTEMBER

  

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) and Department of State Health Services (DSHS) have announced the creation of a tracking system to monitor and report confirmed COVID-19 cases in public schools across Texas.

According to a statement Thursday from the TEA and DSHS, school systems will report cases to the DSHS, who will then publicly report data on cases and outbreaks in schools starting in September.

TEA officials said data on the number of cases in schools is of “paramount interest to parents, students, teachers, staff, public health experts, policymakers, and the larger community”.  They said the information will be submitted to DSHS any time there is a positive case in a campus community.

According to the statement, the TEA is collaborating with superintendents on the reporting process and will finalize it in the coming days.  The data collection effort will be updated based on the input received from Texas school districts.

The TEA said having this knowledge and being able to publicly share the accumulated case totals from schools in a single place covering the entire state will help to “further support the health and safety of all Texans”.