Texas teachers ask Gov. Abbott to keep schools closed

With roughly four weeks left in the school year those who represent Texas educators would like to see schools remain closed. Some school districts already made the call to keep their campuses closed, like Fort Bend Independent School District, and in Dallas, they announced schools will be closed indefinitely.

The head of the Texas American Federation of Teachers says the best thing to do is keep them all closed for now. Zeph Capo is the President of Texas AFT and says, “I think safety and security of our students and our staff are first and foremost.”

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End of year testing has been waived, and educators are just scratching the surface with teaching online. “The last four weeks of school generally are post-testing weeks anyway. I think that the time is much better spent for our teachers to continue learning the online process, and ensuring that we make safety our number one priority,” says Capo.

In a letter addressed to Governor Greg Abbott, Texas AFT is asking that all Texas public schools remain closed. Online education will continue, and teachers can continue their training.

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“Let’s continue doing those things that are in place right now because the likelihood or the potential that we may have to go back to some type of online learning in the future if next year another type of outbreak like this were to happen will be much better prepared,” says Capo and that the last thing he wants to do is jeopardize the start of the new school year in August if an infection were to spread through schools. He is hoping that Abbott makes a statewide decision. “The worst thing that could probably happen is leaving some schools out and bringing others back in. One, because of the spread, but two that also just exacerbates the inequities between our school districts and within our state.”

We are expecting to here more about Governor Greg Abbott’s plans for our schools during his briefing on April 18.