Teachers in Dallas say the district should reverse a change made earlier this month that cut available time for staff to quarantine after a COVID-19 diagnosis. On January 7, Dallas ISD changed guidelines from ten days in quarantine to five.
"Our teachers, our support staff, our administrators are physically exhausted. They're mentally exhausted, and this is just adding to it," says Rena Honea, president of the teachers' union, Alliance AFT. "They can't get better if they're sick all the time."
After five days, teachers can continue taking time off if they are symptomatic, but they must use personal sick leave. Honea says the change comes as the district is dealing with an increase in teacher absences. She says more than 250 teachers across the district missed a day recently, with one school losing between ten and 20.
"That may not sound huge for a workforce of 10,000 teachers, but I can tell you, for those who were covering classes and had to have kids split among other teachers, it's hard," Honea says. "It increases stress, the mental exhaustion, the physical exhaustion with them having to continue like nothing has gone wrong."
Honea says students develop better with in-person learning and Alliance AFT would support a brief shift to online learning, "but we're not, in my opinion, to the point where those changes are needed right now."
"Only if the substitute [shortage] and cases continue to grow would we really advocate for that," she says.
Dallas ISD changed guidelines earlier this month based on updated guidance from the CDC and Texas Education Agency. The CDC says teachers can return to the classroom after five days in quarantine if they are symptom-free or their symptoms are improving.
TEA says students who are diagnosed with COVID should still stay home ten days.
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