FILE – In this Thursday, March 11, 2021 file photo, desks are arranged in a classroom at an elementary school in Nesquehoning, Pa. In the fall of 2021, vaccinated teachers and students should no longer wear masks inside school buildings and no one need bother with them outside, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday, July 9, 2021, in relaxing its COVID-19 guidelines. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)
AUSTIN, Texas (KAMR/KCIT) – Texas parents are now allowed to choose if their child should restart kindergarten, or repeat a course or a grade.
Announced by the Texas Education Agency (TEA), the Texas Legislature passed SB 1697 in the wake of disruptions brought around by the COVID-19 pandemic through 2020-21. The bill is intended to give parents new rights, one of which is to determine whether their children should repeat a course or a grade.
“This option is especially important to consider for the parents of the nearly 25,000 children in Texas who were eligible for kindergarten in School Year 2020-21, but who did not enroll, as well as for those kindergarteners who had a significantly disrupted school year…” said the TEA, “The decision to opt for a student to repeat a course or grade may also be right for children in older grades who struggled academically.”
The TEA offered resources regarding what parents should know, and guidance for these decisions, here.
However, the TEA said that parents who believe their child would benefit from repeating a course or grade should act quickly, as parents need to inform their school in writing before the beginning of the school year. The agency also clarified that students in grade 4 or above only have this option for the 2021-22 school year, but Pre-K through grade 3 students will have this option permanently.
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