The school board for the Dallas Independent School District will meet Thursday afternoon to discuss potential changes to the calendar for the 2020-2021 school year and additional precautions schools can take to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Dallas ISD had been planning to start the school year August 17 with online learning only. Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins has barred districts from holding in-person classes until after Labor Day.
Thursday, the school board will discuss whether to change the start of the school year to September 8, the day after Labor Day. Dallas ISD has made WiFi hotspots available to families but says 13,600 of its 150,000 students still have no way to connect.
To make up for the later start, the school board could cancel planned days off that would have coincided with the State Fair of Texas, which was cancelled. A day off would be added November 3 for election day.
The 2020-2021 school year would also continue until June 21, 2021 instead of ending May 28.
In addition to changes to the 2020-2021 schedule, the district is also laying out plans to protect students and staff when they do return.
Dallas ISD says students will have their temperatures checked before entering school. Staff will have their temperatures checked and be required to "self monitor" for symptoms before coming to work each day.
Students will be required to wear face masks while they ride the bus and during class. Dallas ISD will provide washable face coverings to each students.
The district says "every effort will be made" to maintain six foot distances on campuses. In areas where that is not possible, Dallas ISD says plexiglass shields will be installed.
Dallas ISD says stations will be set up around schools "to ensure students have easy access to sanitize their hands regularly." The district says it will also clean "high use" areas more often, such as doors, windows and light switches.
Schools will have areas in nurses' offices where kids who develop a fever can be kept in isolation until their parents pick them up. For campuses where a student does contract COVID-19, the district says contact tracing will begin and parents will be notified.
