Trustees with the Dallas Independent School District will meet Thursday to discuss potential changes to the school calendar as a result of COVID-19.
Several board members are holding virtual town-halls ahead of the meeting to hear questions from parents and teachers.
Among items the board will consider is a change to the school calendar. Right now, virtual classes are scheduled to begin August 17.
Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins has ordered in-person classes for all districts in the county not to begin until after Labor Day. Dallas ISD will decide whether to continue with an existing plan for virtual classes or delay the start of the school year until September 8.
The district may also cancel days off that were planned to coincide with the State Fair of Texas. The end of the school year may then be extended from May 27, 2021 to June 18, 2021.
Trustee Dan Micciche held a virtual town hall Monday evening.
"What I'm trying to do in this meeting is hear your concerns, take them into account and ask questions of the administration about these proposals," he said.
Some parents asked about whether the district would adopt six or nine week grading periods.
"That causes more of a hardship with a longer time period for work purposes," one parent said. "If we choose virtual, that's a longer time to get someone to cover child care for us to get back to work."
Dallas ISD says it may allow parents to choose between virtual or in-person learning but will ask parents to stick with one choice for an entire grading period. Another parent asked how, with an extended grading period, they could react quickly if conditions changed and several students at one school were infected.
"I'm a front-line worker; I work for hospice. My husband drives trucks to get food and water to companies, so we're dedicated to people's resources," she said.
Some teachers asked who would be responsible for enforcement of mask rules and what would happen if a student starts to get sick.
"When somebody does come down with a cough, are we going to then quarantine and have the ability to then test the entire class?" asked teacher Ronny Swank.
Swank said he hopes changes adopted now could be extended to the next time there is a severe flu season. He says he would want assurances that cleaning procedures would be followed as long as the virus poses a threat.
"My dream would be to get back into the classroom," he said. "My dream would be we take this as a huge lesson."
Micciche said he would take the questions to the school board, but he says he could not give an indication about what the board would choose.
"I don't have the answers about what the administration is actually going to propose. I'm trying to gather your input about concerns," he said.
Trustees Maxie Johnson, Ben Mackey and Miguel Solis plan a virtual town hall Tuesday from 6-7 p.m.
The Dallas ISD school board will meet Thursday at 3 p.m.