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Updated: 8 p.m. March 18
Plano ISD will resume classes remotely on March 23, informing parents of its plans for remote learning during the ongoing precautionary school closures.
Core content classes will be the first to resume district-wide, including math, English, reading, science and social studies.
Teachers will contact parents in the coming days to go over the plan for remote instruction.
The district is continuing to survey parents to determine their technology needs. Chromebooks are expected to be provided to families that would use them.
“Please know we have enough devices for every student in the district so there is no need to purchase a device,” the district said in its communication to parents.
The district also created a website with more details on at-home learning.
Updated 6:30 p.m. March 18
Collin County health officials have now identified 13 cases of coronavirus in the county
In addition to the 10 other cases previously reported, a 38-year-old man from Plano, 54-year-old man from Anna and a 39-year-old man from McKinney have tested positive. None of these individuals have underlying medical conditions, and all are self-isolating at their homes
According to the county, these additional cases are unrelated to each other.
Updated: 5:20 p.m. March 18Plano ISD's ongoing school closures have been extended until April 3, the district said.
The district will re-evaluate the length of the closure during the week of March 30, according to a district statement.
Details of a long-term plan for instruction are being discussed and will be rolled out to parents and staff.
PISD buildings will remain closed to the public.
Updated: 3:40 p.m. March 18
A meal-finder app will become available to parents March 20, according to an announcement from Gov. Greg Abbott.
The app, called the Texas Students MealFinder Map, will include the address of facilities serving meals in their communities as well as days and times meals will be served.
The Texas Education Agency is asking local education agencies and schools to complete an application to be included in the map.
Updated: 1 p.m. March 18
Collin County health authorities have been notified that a 64-year-old Plano man diagnosed with coronavirus died March 17 in a local hospital. The patient had an underlying health condition, according to the county.
The case was not confirmed until after the man's death. His case was not among the nine coronavirus cases previously reported by the county.
County officials have not been able to confirm the cause of the man's death. Due to the nature of how his case was reported, it is unclear whether he came in contact with the virus locally or through travel, according to the county.
Updated: 11:30 a.m. March 18
Local elections are encouraged to be suspended until Nov. 3 in Texas according to a proclamation by Gov. Greg Abbott March 18.
"Right now, the state's focus is responding to COVID-19 — including social distancing and avoiding large gatherings. By delaying this election, our local election officials can assist in that effort,” Abbott said.
The city of Plano has no scheduled municipal or school board elections for May 2.
The governor has suspended multiple Texas codes, allowing for political subdivisions to delay their elections.
An election advisory with guidance for postponing elections has also been released by Texas Secretary of State Ruth Hughs.
Updated: 10:00 a.m. March 18
A third positive novel coronavirus case has been confirmed in Plano by the Collin County Health Department.
The case is a 32-year-old woman, who is self-quarantined in her own home and has no underlying health conditions, according to public health officials.
This is Collin County’s ninth confirmed positive case.
Updated: 9:30 a.m. March 18; 4:00 p.m. March 18
Collin College will move the majority of classes online beginning March 23.
This may continue until the end of the semester, a release from the college March 18 said, but has not been determined at this time.
Classes that are not able to move online are discussing other ways of learning and many are already moving forward, the release said
Collin College libraries and computer, math and writing labs will remain open at this time.
Employees will be guaranteed normal pay during the crisis, including full and part-time faculty and student employees.
The college has also decided to postpone its May 15 graduation until late August.
Each of these decisions were approved at a special trustee meeting March 17, as well as approval of temporary authority for its president to implement measures as needed for the health, safety and well-being of its college students and employees at an emergency meeting March 17.
This authority will allow for actions not included in the college’s emergency plan, District President Neil Matkin said.
Updated: 6:45 p.m. March 17
Plano Fire-Rescue's medical director told council members to expect the number of confirmed Plano cases of the new coronavirus to jump in coming days as more private labs enable testing.
Residents should continue to distance themselves from crowds, work from home and treat even small social gatherings with caution, Dr. Mark Gamber told Plano City Council at their March 17 meeting.
“It’s already here," Gamber said. "We just don’t have the ability to test for it right now.”
Two Plano residents have tested positive for the new coronavirus, according to Collin County.
Updated: 12:15 p.m. March 17
Collin County is canceling all nonessential county board and commission meetings through March 31, according to a March 14 statement.
Boards and commissions have also been instructed to use digital communication for any critical issues during that time, the statement said.
Commissioners Court will continue to meet during this time.
Updated: 11 a.m. March 17
A mobile food pantry will take place from 3-5 p.m. March 20 at the Plano ISD Williams High School parking lot, hosted by the North Texas Food Bank.
Families will be able to drive through and receive food, according to the district's health page. This change from a normal model, where people walk up to the truck to get their food, to a drive-thru model, where guests stay in their cars and are brought food, helps limit contact, the food pantry said.
The food bank is including additional sanitization kits with its mobile food drives, according to a member of its media team.
If the event is rescheduled or canceled, the district will let the public know through its social media channels, the food bank said.
Updated: 3 p.m. March 16
Gov. Greg Abbott announced March 16 that the requirements for the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness, or STAAR testing, have been waived for the 2019-20 academic year.
This decision is in response to large absences or schools closing as they take steps to slow the spread of coronavirus, the announcement said. Plano ISD has extended its spring break by one week and will reassess opening campuses before March 23.
“Your health and safety are top priorities, and the state of Texas will give school districts flexibility to protect and ensure the health of students, faculty and their families,” Abbott said in the announcement. “We will empower schools to make the best decisions to protect their communities from COVID-19.”
Plano ISD is one of the more than 50 districts that requested a similar decision in a letter March 14 to Abbott and Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath.
Recent guidance from the Texas Education Agency had included preparing for STAAR testing on April 7.
“Given the unique situation with which we are faced, we believe our focus is best placed on keeping students safe and maintaining continuity of instruction, not attempting to implement some alternative form of standardized testing,” the letter from the districts said.
Plano ISD did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Updated: 12:30 p.m. March 16
The city of Plano plans to shut down its libraries and recreation centers and cancel sports leagues and nonessential city commission and board meetings, as it has declared the new coronavirus a public health emergency.
The facility closures are expected to go into effect 5 p.m. March 16 and last through March 27, the city said in a news release. The “extraordinary changes” were intended to help contain the spread of the virus, the city said.
“This is an important declaration for a serious and changing situation,” Plano City Manager Mark Israelson said in the release. “Plano, our neighboring cities and Collin County all recognize the importance of prudent and proactive actions at this time. We need all citizens and businesses to do their part to prevent the spread of COVID-19.”
As part of the measures, the city has activated its emergency operations center.
City staff are expected to brief Plano City Council members on coronavirus at their March 16 meeting. In its statement, the city encouraged residents to follow council meetings on the city’s website and to submit public comments electronically to the city secretary’s email address, [email protected].
Plano City Council and Plano Planning & Zoning Commission are still expected to meet, as are all other groups with meetings required by law.
The Plano announcement coincided with a formal disaster declaration issued by Collin County Judge Chris Hill.
“This declaration ensures that we are able to access and share strategic resources and supplies as they become available,” Hill said.
Eight total cases of the new virus have been confirmed in Collin County as of this posting.
For Collin County coverage prior to March 16, visit our previous updates page.
Correction: A previous version of this article misnamed a Plano ISD school.
