13 Investigates survey shows back to school in flux for millions

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — The hallways of Burnett Elementary School are lined with stickers reminding students and teachers to maintain social distancing.

Inside, a large table that would typically seat four pre-kindergarten students is now designated one table per student.

About 600 children fill the school’s halls during a typical school day. But, with just six weeks until the start of the 2020-21 year at Galveston ISD, administrators are still trying to determine just how many students teachers can expect to see in person.

“There’s a lot of strong opinions from the community, from parents, from staff, from everybody involved, all the stakeholders,” said Jeff Paysse, a bilingual/ESL instructional coach at Galveston ISD. “It’s a challenge that all of us are facing in the entire country and the state so I think we’re all going to do our very best to figure it out.”

From who will be required to wear a face mask to how transportation and UIL participation will be handled, 13 Investigates reached out to nearly every school district in Texas to see what their expectations are for the upcoming school year.

We heard from more than 125 school districts that are home to about 2.5 million students. Each either responded to our survey or provided a statement. We scoured public statements and websites for those that didn’t reply to give you the most complete Back to School picture possible.

With the Texas Education Agency releasing its 2020-21 public health guidelines last week, some districts, like the state’s largest – Houston ISD – are still finalizing their plans and will respond to our survey later this week.

Of those who responded to our survey, 84 percent say they expect more than half their students to return to in-person learning on the first day of class; 90 percent expect to offer a mix of in-person and virtual learning.