Aliyya Swaby | Texas Tribune
Aliyya Swaby started as the Texas Tribune's public education reporter in October 2016. She came to the Tribune from the hyperlocal nonprofit New Haven Independent, where she covered education, zoning and transit for two years. After graduating from Yale University in 2013, she spent a year freelance reporting in Panama on social issues affecting black Panamanian communities. A native New Yorker, Aliyya misses public transportation but is thrilled by the lack of snow.
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With Gov. Greg Abbott's statewide mask mandate ending next week, some school districts are likely to face contentious discussions about whether to continue requiring masks in schools. -
School districts report flooded classrooms and gyms, and teachers have lost supplies and learning materials. The damage is further disrupting a school year already upended by the pandemic.
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There will be few consequences if parents worried about the health risks of in-person testing keep their elementary and middle school students in virtual learning at home. But high schoolers still must pass certain exams to graduate.
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Administrators, school staff and uncredentialed stand-ins are being sent into classrooms to cover for teachers who fall ill or have to isolate. But even those improvisations aren't keeping classrooms fully staffed.
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School districts can set up sites outside of their schools, including performing arts centers, hotels and recreation centers where they can “ensure equitable access and maintain test security.”
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A school finance bill in 2019 boosted funding for districts, but the pandemic has since added layers of financial uncertainty.
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Reports of depression, anxiety and thoughts of suicide among Texas students are rising as the pandemic drags on. Here is a resource guide for those seeking help.
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Months of remote learning were hard on the Frisco ISD student. Like other schoolchildren across the state, he experienced mental health issues, in large part due to social isolation during the pandemic.
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The report comes on the heels of Texas signing two, four-year contracts totaling $388 million with companies to develop and administer the standardized tests.
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Contracts totaling $338 million have been awarded to Cambium Assessment and Pearson, a longtime player in testing Texas public school students, to develop and administer STAAR for the next four years.
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The appeals court upheld a temporary injunction that stops Texas from ousting Houston ISD's school board. But the legal battle is not over.
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Enrollment has fallen as schools and families grapple with pandemic closures and health concerns. Next semester, the declines could start hitting district budgets.
