Austin (AP) – The state’s top teachers group is criticizing state guidelines for starting the school year while the coronavirus pandemic is still raging. The Texas State Teachers Association says the guidelines pronounced Friday by Governor Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, and the state’s other Republican leaders would unfairly punish public school districts that choose to stick with online instruction exclusively for safety’s sake. The guidelines limit districts to four weeks of exclusively online instruction unless they get a waiver from the Texas Education Agency. Health officials are relegated to a purely advisory role.
