Launch to Learning 2020-21 updates are ongoing and subject to change as we continue to navigate opening the 2020-21 school year in Leander ISD. Please visit this article for the latest FAQs and information.

We’re continuing to advocate for our teachers, staff, students, and community as we plan to launch the 2020-21 school year. Earlier today, our Board of Trustees and Superintendent sent a letter to Governor Greg Abbott, Texas Education Agency (TEA) Commissioner Mike Morath, the chairmen of the state’s public education committees, and the elected state representatives for our district.

In the letter, we are asking for the following items:

  • suspension of in-person school and allowance for 100% virtual learning until the seven-day hospitalization average is 10 or less, the threshold set by the Austin-Travis County public health agency for a stage 2 response; 
  • flexibility to realistically minimize classroom ratios and provide social distancing;
  • the suspension of STAAR and the A-F state accountability system for the 2020-21 school year; 
  • additional funding to supplement costs incurred by districts to provide safe and effective learning; and
  • a commitment to allocate current or future federal money specified for schools as a supplement to existing funding commitments by the state.

*Editor’s Note: The request to suspend the A-F state accountability system is NOT a reference to grading for individual students. We will have more grading details as we continue to plan. The new system will look more like a normal school year’s grading.

The letter comes after TEA announced rules and guidelines for opening the school year that required districts to offer 100% in-person instruction for all students, making it impossible to ensure students and staff stay in small groups and socially distanced for the entire school day. The letter also addresses the state’s use of the federal CARES Act funding for schools to supplant its existing funding commitment to schools, rather than a supplement to cover the increased cost of operations during the novel coronavirus pandemic. 

“We want to be with our kids, full time, and in our classrooms,” Superintendent Bruce Gearing, Ed.D. said. “We want to support our families with regular schedules and the full complement of high-quality services our community deserves. We cannot jeopardize the health of our teachers in doing so.”

If you would like to help amplify this message, please share your concerns as well.