Schools must submit COVID-19 case reports to TEA weekly, agency says

Schools still required to notify local health agency of COVID-19 cases, too

In a letter to school district officials, the Texas Education Agency released COVID-19 related data reporting requirements that schools much submit weekly.

The data collection is intended to help TEA and the Department of Health and Human Services guide their policy decisions as the pandemic continues. Schools will need to start reporting on Sept. 8.

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“Given high public interest, DSHS will also be publishing weekly aggregate positive case numbers by district, starting at the end of September,” according to the letter.

The numbers will not include any individually identifiable information, according to the agency.

“Schools will still have to submit a separate form to report to their local health entity individual information for purposes of public health actions such as contact tracing,” according the agency.

In Bexar County, Metro Health has required schools to post their COVID-19 data in aggregate fashion weekly on their district websites. However, officials from some of the largest school districts in San Antonio previously said they were waiting on clarification from Metro Health before publicly posting case numbers.