Students in Dallas ISD were not required to test negative for COVID-19 before they returned to class in person on Wednesday, the district's superintendent says.
North Texas' largest school district will still require masks inside campus buildings, extending that requirement through spring break, Dallas ISD Superintendent Michael Hinojosa said.
"The irony is right before the break we had single-digits of cases and so we were focused on vaccines and masks," he said. "We do not have the number of tests for us to require students a negative test, however, if there's any kind of symptom we will have the students tested."
Hinojosa added that a return to remote learning was not in the district's plans and created challenges for teachers and students alike.
"For teachers, it was next to impossible to try to teach both in-person and remote learning. For the students, only 3-4% of our students were very successful in that environment, so it's going to be our last, last, last, last resort," he said. "This is one thing the governor, the president, and I all agree on, that kids need to be in school."
The district has also partnered with Dallas County Health and Human Services to open two COVID-19 testing sites this week: one at Ellis Dallas Field House and one at The Cove at Samuell Grand Aquatics Center.
Dallas ISD had 143 active COVID-19 cases across the district through Tuesday, according to its coronavirus dashboard.
The district only has had to close just two campuses, for four days each, due to staffing during the nearly two-year-long pandemic, Hinojosa said. And while Dallas ISD could use more substitute teachers, he said it was in better shape than many large, urban school districts across the country.
Dallas County reported 2,422 new COVID-19 on Tuesday. The data reflected information received on Dec. 31; data from Jan. 1-4 was scheduled to be released Wednesday.
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