TEA, state health department partner on school COVID-19 reporting system
The Texas Education Agency and Department of State Health Services on Aug. 20 announced a collaborative tracking system to monitor and publicly report COVID-19 cases in state public schools.
Under the plan, school districts will report positive COVID-19 cases to the DSHS, which will then publicize data on those cases and possible outbreaks. Personal identifying information will not be released.
The state will begin posting the information in September. Currently, the DSHS provides statewide COVID-19 case counts (confirmed cases, fatalities, estimated recoveries, and estimated active cases) on its website.
The TEA is working with school district superintendents on the reporting process, which officials expect to finalize in the coming days.
“Having this knowledge and being able to publicly share the accumulated case totals from schools in a single place covering the entire state of Texas will help us to further support the health and safety of all Texans,” the agencies said in a joint statement.