Austin ISD

In her state of the district address Tuesday, Stephanie Elizalde credited the mask mandate, in part, for the low number of COVID cases in Austin schools.

The East Austin school started the year with 14 open positions, including principal. It's also dealing with renovations and the departure of LASA. Students and staff describe the situation as "chaotic."

Schools are taking different approaches to lunch, the only time during the school day when students don't have to wear masks.

The remote-learning program, which launched Tuesday, was hastily put together in the last few weeks after the spread of the delta variant upset the district's plans for fully in-person classes this year.

AISD will notify families if their child has come into contact with an infected student or staff member and needs to quarantine.

Students started a second school year during the pandemic with a mask mandate in place. A number of counties and school districts have defied the governor's ban on instituting them.

Muchas familias están cambiando de opinión y optando por enviar a sus niños a la escuela en persona ahora que se requiere portar cubrebocas dentro de los edificios escolares.

Families instead are opting to send their children to school in person now that masks are required in school buildings.

“Hay personas que están esperando camas en las salas de emergencia porque no tenemos suficiente personal para expandir nuestra capacidad en las unidades de cuidados intensivos”, dijo la Dra. Desmar Walker, la autoridad de salud en Austin y el condado de Travis.

"It has never been our intent, certainly not mine, to defy a governor's order," Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde said. "This was about the context of our current conditions."