Joint Statement by TEA and DSHS on Creation of COVID-19 Data System for Texas Public Schools

News Release
Aug. 20, 2020

The Texas Education Agency (TEA)in collaboration with the Department of State Health Services (DSHS) today announced a new system to monitor and report confirmed COVID-19 cases in public schools across Texas. School systems report COVID-19 cases to DSHS, and DSHS will publicly report data on COVID-19 cases and outbreaks in schools starting in September. 

Data on the number of cases in schools is of paramount interest to parents, students, teachers, staff, public health experts, policymakers, and the larger community. This information will be submitted to DSHS any time there is a positive case in a campus community. TEA is collaborating with superintendents on the reporting process and will finalize it in the coming days. As a result, it’s important to note that this data collection effort will be updated based on the input received from Texas school districts.

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.

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