Following suit with several neighboring Greater Houston-area school districts, Klein ISD officials announced July 22 that the district will begin the 2020-21 school year remotely Aug. 19
As previously reported by Community Impact Newspaper, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo and Dr. Umair Shah, executive director of Harris County Public Health, urged local school district superintendents to start the school year virtually—possibly until October—in a letter July 20.
Additionally, the Texas Education Agency released updated guidance July 17, allowing Texas school districts the option of offering online-only instruction for the first four weeks of the 2020-21 school year. The guidance also allows local school boards to adopt an additional four-week transition window if the initial four-week period is not sufficient in regions with high coronavirus case counts.
"Unfortunately, the prevalence of the virus in our community continues to be such that the Harris County Public Health shared publicly this week that it is not yet safe to open school to in-person learning at this time or in the near future and has urged all school districts in Harris County to begin the school year online until data supports a safe return to in-person learning," KISD's July 22 release reads.
