Coronavirus (COVID-19) Support and Guidance
The 168 (TEA) continues to work with the Office of the Governor,Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) and the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) to coordinate and plan the state’s response to COVID-19.TEA’s role in these efforts is to help coordinate the flow of information from the state to districts, help districts solve problems, and provide guidance that will aid in districts’ decision-making. TEA does not have the general authority to close schools for matters related to health.
General Public Health Resources
As DSHS is the leadagency in the state’s preparedness efforts, school districts should be working closely with your local healthauthorities as you weigh operational decisions. You can find your local public health organization onthe To see the status of COVID-19 cases, please visit the .If you think you need to be tested for COVID-19, this website allows Texans to find the nearest .
The Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) launched a statewide mental health support line to help all Texans experiencing anxiety, stress, or other emotional challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. operates the line, which is available anytime day or night, at 833-986-1919. Counseling services are confidential and free of charge. More information on mental health resources and your local mental health authority can be found on .
Most Popular Guidance and Resources
- K-12 Public School Allocation(ʶٹ)June 2, 2023[PublicHealth Orderscard]
- Public Health Guidance(ʶٹ)August 1, 2022[PublicHealth Orderscard]
- P-EBT Letter to Families – August(Բ)August 26, 2021[Child Nutritioncard]
- 168 December 2021 Administration FAQ(ʶٹ)November 19, 2021[Student Assessment card]
- Accelerated Learning ResourcesMay 18, 2022[Instructional Continuity card]
- Summary Debrief of TEA COVID-19 Superintendent Call - June 30, 2022(PDF)
Search COVID-19 Resources and Guidance
General Guidance and FAQs
2022 Debriefs
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- January 2022
2021 Debriefs
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- Summary Debrief of TEA COVID-19 Superintendent Call – September 2, 2021 (PDF)
- Summary Debrief of TEA COVID-19 Superintendent Call – September 9, 2021 (PDF)
- Summary Debrief of TEA COVID-19 Superintendent Call – September 16, 2021 (PDF)
- Summary Debrief of TEA COVID-19 Superintendent Call – September 23, 2021 (PDF)
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
2020 Debriefs
- December 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- Summary Debrief of TEA COVID-19 Superintendent Call – September 3, 2020(PDF)
- Summary Debrief of TEA COVID-19 Superintendent Call – September 10, 2020(PDF)
- Summary Debrief of TEA COVID-19 Superintendent Call – September 17, 2020(PDF)
- Summary Debrief of TEA COVID-19 Superintendent Call – September 24, 2020(PDF)
- August 2020
- July 2020
- Summary Debrief of TEA COVID-19 Superintendent Call – July 2, 2020(PDF)
- Summary Debrief of TEA COVID-19 Superintendent Call – July 9, 2020(PDF)
- Summary Debrief of TEA COVID-19 Superintendent Call – July 17, 2020(PDF)
- Summary Debrief of TEA COVID-19 Superintendent Call – July 23 2020(PDF)
- Summary Debrief of TEA COVID-19 Superintendent Call – July 30 2020(PDF)
- June 2020
- May 2020
- Summary Debrief of TEA COVID-19 Superintendent Call – May 5, 2020(PDF)
- Summary Debrief of TEA COVID-19 SuperintendentCall – May 7, 2020(PDF)
- Summary Debrief of TEA COVID-19 Superintendent Call – May 14, 2020(PDF)
- Summary Debrief of TEA COVID-19 SuperintendentCall – May 21, 2020(PDF)
- Summary Debrief of TEA COVID-19 SuperintendentCall – May 28, 2020(PDF)
- April 2020
- Summary Debrief of TEA COVID-19 Superintendent Call – April 3, 2020(PDF)
- Summary Debrief of TEA COVID-19 Superintendent Call – April 7, 2020(PDF)
- Summary Debrief of TEA COVID-19 Superintendent Call – April 9, 2020(PDF)
- Summary Debrief of TEA COVID-19 SuperintendentCall – April 16, 2020(PDF)
- Summary Debrief of TEA COVID-19 SuperintendentCall – April 23, 2020(PDF)
- March 2020
07-07-2022 - TAA:Extension of 2021-2022 COVID-19 School Health Support Grant
05-19-2022 - TAA:2022-2023 State Compensatory Education (SCE) Allotment Census Block Groups
05-05-2022 - TAA: 2021-2022 COVID-19 Testing Program Closeout Dates and Feedback Request
03-29-2022 - TAA:Official Notification of the 2021–2022 Operational Minutes Adjustment
03-24-2022 - TAA:HB 1525 Implementation of MOEquity for COVID-19 Pandemic
03-17-2022 - TAA:Virtual or Hybrid School CDCN Application and Webinar
03-17-2022 - TAA:TEA 2021 Annual Report
03-10-2022 - TAA:Summer School Program for Emergent Bilingual (EB) Students Entering Kindergarten and First Grade Reimbursements
03-10-2022 - TAA:Updated Foster Care Guide Announcement
03-10-2022 - TAA:School Health Survey
03-10-2022 - TAA:School Action Fund, Cycle 6 Application
03-10-2022 - TAA:Extended Deadline for the Lone Star Governance Exemplar Cohort SY 2022–23
03-03-2022 -TAA:LEA Preparation for Fiscal Year 2020–2021 Preliminary Compliance Reviews for IDEA-B LEA MOE
03-03-2022 -TAA: 2021 Leaver Records Data Validation Compliance Reviews
03-03-2022 -TAA: Amendment to the State’s Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) State Plan
03-03-2022 -TAA:School Year 2021-2022 Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) Program
03-03-2022 -TAA: Principal and Teacher Surveys to Evaluate Texas Educator Preparation Programs
03-03-2022 -TAA: HB 906 Mental Health Task Force Survey
03-03-2022 -TAA: K-12 COVID-19 Testing Reporting Requirements and Allocation Update
02-24-2022 -TAA: Updates to TEA Online Testing Infrastructure Matching Grant
02-24-2022 -TAA: Application Open for Texas Through-year Assessment Pilot
02-11-2022 -TAA: 2022–2023 Process for Requesting Indirect Cost Rates - Charter Schools Only
02-03-2022 -TAA: 2022 Maximum Compressed Tax Rates
02-03-2022 -TAA: 2020-21 School Report Card
02-03-2022 -TAA: ADSY COVID Staffing Waiver Request for 2021-2022 COVID-Related School Closures
01-27-2022 -TAA: Application Deadline Extended for One-time Reimbursement for Winter Storm Uri Remediation Costs
01-27-2022 -TAA: New Resources to Support the 168 Redesign
01-20-2022 -TAA:Amendment Request to the State’s Every Student Succeeds Act State Plan
01-20-2022 -TAA:Study of Strategic State Performance Alignment
01-20-2022 -TAA:2021-2022 Assignment of Accreditation Statuses
01-20-2022 -TAA:Lone Star Governance Exemplar Cohort SY 2022–23
01-13-2022 -TAA:edTPA Teacher Certification Examination Pilot
01-13-2022 -TAA:Mentor Program Allotment Cycle 3 District Application
12-17-2021 -TAA:Reminder of Required Schedules for Charter Schools
12-09-2021 -TAA:Teacher Incentive Allotment and National Board Certified Teachers
12-09-2021 -TAA:System of Great Schools Application Process
12-09-2021 -TAA:One-time Reimbursement for Winter Storm Uri Remediation Costs
12-09-2021 -TAA:Grant Opportunity for Strategic Compensation Fellowship
12-09-2021 -TAA:Senate Bill 1716 Expansion of the Supplemental Special Education Services Program
11-18-2021 -TAA:School Year 2021-2022 Income Eligibility Verification Forms
11-18-2021 -TAA:Senate Bill 3, 87th Texas Legislature, Second Called Session – Update to Instructional Requirements and Prohibitions
11-11-2021 -TAA: Information for Districts and Charter Schools Identified as Having a High Dropout Rate
11-11-2021 -TAA: School Year 2021-2022 P-EBT: Recording COVID-19 Related Absences
11-11-2021 -TAA: Official Notification of the 2021–2022 Operational Minutes Adjustment
09-16-2021 - TAA:SY 2021-2022 K-12 COVID-19 Testing Project
09-09-2021 -TAA: Senate Bill 15 (87thLegislative Session, 2ndCalled Session) Overview
09-02-2021 - TAA:COVID-19 Testing Availability Reminder
08-26-2021 -TAA:Summer Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT)
08-24-2021 - Press Release:Governor Abbott, HHSC Announce $1.4 Billion In Summer Pandemic Food Benefits For Texas Families
08-12-2021 - TAA:Vetted Texas Tutor Corps (VTTC) Announcement
08-12-2021 - TAA:Webinar: Compensatory Education Funding and Free-Reduced Price Meal Applications
08-12-2021 - TAA:TCLAS Application Closing on 8/20 for LEAs
08-05-2021 - TAA:Tiered Career and Technical Education (CTE) Weighted Funding
07-15-2021 -TAA:TCLAS Application: Source for 15+ TEA Initiatives and Supports—Opens Monday
07-15-2021 - TAA:Parental Option for Students to Repeat Grades or Courses
06-28-2021 - Press Release: TEA Releases Spring 2021 168 Grades 3-8 and End-of-Course Assessment Results
06-24-2021 - TAA:Release of ESSER Supplemental (ESSER-SUPP) Funds to Eligible Texas Public School Districts and Open-enrollment Charter Schools
06-24-2021 - TAA:House Bill 4545 Implementation Overview
06-17-2021 - TAA:ESSA Waiver Requests to USDE
06-03-2021 - TAA:Release of ESSER II Formula Funds to Texas LEAs
06-02-2021 - TAA:Individual Graduation Committees for Seniors in SY 2020-2021
05-27-2021 - TAA:High-Impact Tutoring Implementation Workshop Series
05-20-2021 - TAA: Pandemic Eligibility Benefits Transfer (P-EBT) May 20 2021
05-20-2021 - Press Release:Governor Abbott, HHS Announce $2.5 Billion in Pandemic Food Benefits for Texas Families
05-13-2021 -TAA: Notice of Public Comment: ESSER III State Plan
04-28-2021 -Press Release: Governor Abbott, Legislative Leaders Announce $11.2 Billion In New Funding For Texas Public Schools
04-28-2021 - TAA:Release of ESSER III Formula Funds to Texas Public School Systems
04-08-2021 -TAA: Summer School Program for English Learners (ELs) in Kindergarten and First Grade Reimbursements
04-08-2021 -TAA:2020-2021 Pandemic Eligibility Benefits Transfer (P-EBT) Survey
03-25-2020 - TAA:Virtual and Hybrid School Accelerator Application Process
03-23-2021 - TAA:SY 2020-2021 Early Reporting of Basic Attendance Data; March 31stCrisis Code Collection Canceled
03-04-2021 - TAA:2020-2021 School Day Event Code Additions
03-04-2021 -Press Release:State Leadership Announces Funding For Texas School Systems To Support In-Person Instruction
03-03-2021 - Press Release:168 Announces Updates to Public Health Guidance; TEA Also Provides Updates to COVID-19 Vaccine FAQ
03-01-2021 -TAA: Survey of Estimated Disaster Remediation Costs for School Districts and Charter Schools Affected by the February 2021 Winter Storm Event
02-22-2021: TAA:Information for Districts and Charter Schools eligible for Title I, 1003 (a) School Improvement Funding
01-28-2021 - Press Release:Governor Abbott, TEA Open Grant Applications For Students With Cognitive Disabilities Impacted by COVID-19
01-14-2021 - Press Release:Optional Beginning-of-Year Assessments Data Help Quantify Initial Impact of COVID-19 on Texas Students
01-07-2021 - TAA:Final Reminder: K-12 COVID-19 Testing Project Opt-In Deadline
12-10-2020 - TAA:COVID Recovery Instructional Materials Support Initiative
12-10-2020 - TAA:A–F Accountability Pause; Addendum and Amendment Requests to the State’s Every Student Succeeds Act State Plan
12-10-2020 - Press Release:168 Pauses A-F Ratings For 2020-21 School Year
11-19-2020 - TAA:Reminder: K-12 COVID-19 Testing Project
11-18-2020 - Press Release:Governor Abbott, TEA, TDEM Announce $420 Million Reimbursement Program for Texas Schools To Continue Supporting Remote Learning During COVID-19
10-22-2020 - Press Release:Governor Abbott, TEA Establish Targeted Education Funds for Families of Students with Cognitive Disabilities
10-14-2020 - Press Release:Governor Abbott, TEA, TDEM Announce COVID-19 Rapid Testing Pilot Program For Texas School Systems
10-01-2020 -Press Release:TEA Updates Pandemic School Funding Formula
09-24-2020 - TAA:Texas Home Learning 3.0: Texas College Bridge-Online College Preparatory Courses and Student Advising
09-17-2020 -Press Release:DSHS and TEA Launch Webpage with COVID-19 Case Data Reported by Texas Public Schools
09-17-2020 -TAA:Change to Close of 2020-21 School-Start Window
09-17-2020 -TAA:Additional Days School Year Intent to Participate for 2020-2021
09-17-2020 -TAA:Senate Bill 11 Data Requirement and Safe and Supportive Schools Program (SSSP)
09-03-2020 -Press Release: TEA Launches First Set of Innovative Learning Solutions for K-12 Math to Support Schools Across Texas
08-31-2020 - TAA:TDEM CRF LEA Reimbursement Program
08-27-2020 - TAA:2020-2021 COVID-19 Case Reporting
08-13-2020 - TAA:Information for Districts, Campuses, and Charter Schools Identified to Engage in School Improvement Interventions
08-13-2020 - TAA:OnRamps Distance Learning Catalog for middle and high school teachers
08-13-2020 - TAA:SY 2020-2021 COVID-19 Crisis Code Reporting Guidance
08-04-2020 -Press Release: Governor Abbott Provides Update on PPE Distribution to Texas Schools
07-31-2020 - Press Release:Governor Abbott, Lt. Governor Patrick, Speaker Bonnen, Chairman Taylor, Chairman Huberty Release Statement On School Re-Openings
07-30-2020 - Press Release:TEA Will Offer Free Learning Management System to Texas Schools for Two Years to Help Bolster Remote and Classroom Instruction
07-27-2020 - TAA:Waiver of the Student Success Initiative (SSI) Promotion Requirements
07-27-2020 - Press Release:Governor Abbott Waives Grade Promotion Requirements For 2020-2021 168 Testing
07-23-2020 - TAA:Resilient Schools Support Program
07-23-2020 - TAA:Webinar Series: Adapting or Adopting Remote Resilient Curriculum
07-17-2020 - Video:
07-14-2020 -Press Release:TEA Announces Additional Reopening Guidance, Including Local Option for an Online-Only Start to the 2020-21 School Year
07-09-2020 - TAA:“Excellence in Remote Instructional Delivery” Training for Principals
07-09-2020 - TAA:Optional Beginning-of-Year Assessments for 2020-2021
07-07-2020 - Press Release:TEA Issues Comprehensive Guidelines for a Safe Return to On-Campus Instruction for the 2020-21 School Year
06-22-2020 - TAA:Final Outreach Materials to Promote P-EBT Program
05-21-2020 - TAA:P-EBT Overview and Communications Toolkit
05-12-2020 - Press Release:TEA Offers Free Tool to Parents and Schools to Diagnose How Much Their Students Learned This Year and To Help Educators Plan for the “COVID Slide”
05-11-2020 - Press Release:TEA Helps Solve a Critical COVID-19 Special Education Distance Learning Challenge
05-07-2020 - TAA:COVID-19 Crisis Code Reporting Guidance
05-05-2020 - Press Release:TEA Announces Class of 2020 Graduation Ceremony Guidance for Texas Schools
04-14-2020 - TAA:Expedited COVID Federal Grant Fiscal Waiver Request to USDE
04-06-2020 - TAA:Instructional Continuity Grant for districts with Targeted Support and Improvement campuses
04-02-2020- TAA:Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Waiver Approval & 2020 State Academic Accountability
03-20-2020 -Press Release: Launch of Texas MealFinder Map
03-19-2020 - Press Release:Statement from Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath on the Temporary Statewide Closure of Schools
03-18-2020 - TAA:COVID19 Federal ESSA Waiver Request
03-18-2020 - TAA:168 Cancellation
03-18-2020 - TAA:Texas Mealfinder
03-16-2020 - Press Release:Statement From Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath
03-12-2020 - TAA:TEA Update COVID-19 Initial Guidance and FAQs
03-06-2020 - TAA:TEA Spring Break Guidance/Update on Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)
02-28-2020 - TAA:TEA is Closely Monitoring Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)
02-28-2020 -Press Release: TEA is Closely Monitoring Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)
02-06-2020 - TAA:TEA Update - Influenza Virus (with attachment "Coronavirus ISD template letter")
TEA encourages the use and promotion of verified sources of information about the flu and coronavirus.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Texas Department of State Health Services
TexasDepartment of Agriculture
Texas School Safety Center
University Interscholastic League (UIL)
U.S. Department of Education