State officials push for STAAR testing cancellation

As cases of COVID-19 in Texas continue to rise, large gatherings and events are continuing to cancel for fear of spreading the highly contagious virus.

One Texas lawmaker shared his concerns via Twitter, saying he strongly believes Governor Greg Abbott should consider canceling the annual STAAR test.

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Late afternoon on March 13, the city’s health department offered fortunate news for the cases the city announced to this point.

State Representative Jeff Leach wrote a letter to Governor Abbott encouraging him to think about students who are now on an extended Spring Break, saying that classroom schedules have been interrupted and that families have experienced stress and pressure due to the rapid spread of coronavirus.

RELATED:Houston-area school closings and delays

Following Rep. Leach’s post, Speaker Dennis Bonnen shared via Twitter that the Texas Education Agency, otherwise known as TEA, plans to release an update in the coming weeks on the testing procedures in efforts to ease parental and student concerns about COVID-19.

TEA then sent a tweet stating that they are in the process of finalizing changes for the assessment this year and they anticipate a decision by Thursday.

Friday, Governor Abbott declared a state of disaster as cases in Texas continued to rise.

President Donald Trump announced on Saturday that he underwent testing after officials said he was in direct contact with a foreign national who tested positive for the illness.

Trump says he was tested for COVID-19, awaiting results