Remote learning is for students on the in-person learning pathway, should the district need to completely shut down due to a COVID-19 outbreak.

All students are subject to the state requirement to be in attendance at least 90% of the time that a class is offered to earn credit. Attendance committees will convene to address situations that arise due to COVID. 

Students will not be allowed to move from in-person to virtual learning during a nine weeks grading period.

The district is currently working on additional guidelines for attendance. These will be included in the Student Handbook which will be available to students and parents before the first day of school.

No, students will not be allowed to move from in-person to virtual learning during a nine-week grading period.

Families will have the opportunity to change their learning pathway (in-person, virtual or virtual plus) choices at the end of every 9-week grading period throughout the school year. Requests for changes should be submitted to your campus anytime before the 7-week mark in the 9-week grading period. The first 9-week grading period ends on Oct. 16, therefore change requests must be made anytime prior to Oct. 2. Families will soon be provided a form to submit their change requests. Learning path changes will go into effect at the beginning of the next 9-weeks.

No. Students will not be in their classroom all day. Students will be in their homeroom classroom throughout the day for their core subjects. If students participate in the Dual Language/Spanish Immersion program or have several teachers due to teaming or departmentalization, teachers will travel to the different classrooms and students will stay in their homeroom class. Students will have the opportunity to participate in outdoor recess, scheduled time in the cafeteria, P.E. in the gymnasium, and some time in their Specials classrooms. Individual campus schedules will vary depending on size and student population, but all students will have some scheduled time out of their classroom each day.

Yes, students will still participate in P.E. outside, weather permitting. P.E. equipment will be used for one grade level only and will be sanitized before use for the next day.

We have received some questions about class sizes when we return to campuses, given the number of students that have selected virtual learning for the first 9 weeks of school. We want to clarify that, while there may be a smaller number of students learning in-person, there are also fewer in-person learning teachers to accommodate the need for virtual learning teachers. Consequently, in-person class sizes are expected to be about the same size as usual. With that said, every classroom in LISD will be supplied with at least 10-12 desk shields and desks will be spaced out as much as possible.

Yes, currently LISD’s Extended School Day (ESD) program will be in operation throughout the school year.

Individual elementary and secondary students can transition to a temporary “remote learning” educational model. The students will continue to receive lessons via a combination of asynchronous (at your own pace) and synchronous (virtual face-to-face) learning from their classroom teacher. The length of the individual quarantine will be based on health guidelines provided by state and local agencies. LISD is waiting for further direction at this time.

Based on TEA guidelines, school grading policies for remote student work must be consistent with those used before COVID-19 for on-campus assignments. Any virtual environment, by choice or by governmental decision, will follow the same grading guidelines as in-person learning, as set forth in our handbook and academic guides. In turn, the grading policy in place on the campus will continue in a virtual environment and will not move to other systems such as pass/fail. This is also covered in this additional TEA guidance.

The Pre-K Tuition Based Discovery Academy will continue to be open in the same manner as all other campus classrooms. If a Discovery Academy family chooses to participate in virtual learning, they will receive the half-day, 90 minute curriculum. The PreK virtual learning tuition daily rate will be reduced by 50% less than the monthly, in person rate for families who would like this option.  Parents who no longer wish for their child to participate should contact the Early Childhood Department at ecprograms@lisd.net to withdraw from the program.

The first day of in-person learning for all Discovery Academy classes and Employee Pre-K at LJJ is Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2020. Linked HERE is the full calendar for Discovery Academy and Employee Pre-K at LJJ. Virtual Learning for PreK - 12 will begin Aug. 19, in alignment with the official LISD first day of school and the start of all virtual learning for all families who choose it, PreK - 12.

Families wishing to unenroll their child due to COVID-related factors may do so at any time. To unenroll, email ecprograms@lisd.net and the campus attendance clerk at their school as soon as possible to notify both parties. Those choosing to unenroll by Aug. 3, 2020 will receive a registration fee refund of $125 of the $200 registration. Registration fees will no longer be refunded after Aug. 3 though a family may still choose to unregister at any time. Depending on the time of year when unenrollment happens, a final adjusted tuition payment may be required. Future tuition payments will be halted at the time of withdrawal.

The extended day hours will continue to be 6:50 - 5:30 daily for Discovery Academy and Employee PreK at LJJ. All children must be picked up by 5:30 daily. A late fee of $1 per minute is charged for late pick-ups after 5:30. Children must be dropped off by the start of the instructional school day and picked up on or after the end of the school’s instructional school day. 

Parents will continue to use the side door doorbell entry at the school to alert the staff they are there to pick up their child. They will have to wait at the door and their child will be brought to them at the door. 

Full day pre-k students will have a daily rest time. All efforts will be made to space children’s nap mats out as much as possible during rest time. Student’s rest time items (small blanket from home, etc) will be minimalized and kept separate from other children’s things. Nap mats will be assigned to individual children and labeled to insure they are not shared. Nap mats will be sanitized on a routine basis and bedding will be sent home weekly to be cleaned.

As LISD STEM Academies already extend 25 minutes beyond regular elementary school hours, the STEM academies will not be adding minutes. Start time will be 7:45 a.m. and end time remains at 3:25 p.m.

Class relocation and sanitization needs will be addressed on a case by case basis. If it is determined that additional cleaning and sanitization is needed, campus administration will work to relocate that class while the classroom is disinfected before the class returns to that specific classroom.

Quarantine decisions will be made on a case by case basis, depending on several factors (including direct contact, class size, etc.) in each individual classroom. If there is a positive case reported in a classroom, that does not necessarily mean the entire classroom will transition to a mandatory quarantine. Campuses will work with teachers and families to determine any additional quarantine measures that need to be taken. 

If additional cleaning and sanitization is needed, campus administration will work to relocate that class while the classroom is disinfected before the class returns to that specific classroom.

Based on current TEA guidance, LISD will notify families and staff of any lab-confirmed positive COVID-19 cases on campus. This notice will be provided by phone and/or email via the district’s Skylert messaging system.

To date, emergency drills remain a legal requirement for school districts. However, instead of campus-wide drills, smaller groups of students and staff (classrooms or wings) will conduct drills at different times to allow proper social distancing. For some drills, a classroom discussion and/or small demonstration of safety procedures may occur to limit close contact. Documentation of completed drills will continue to be reported to LISD’s Safety and Security Department.

All students and staff will be required to wear face coverings in all common areas unless consuming food or drink or speaking to a large group while observing appropriate physical distancing. Students and staff will also be required to wear face coverings in the classroom when physical distancing is not possible.

Protective measures, including the use of face coverings, will be determined by the level of disease activity of COVID-19 and will be determined based on guidance provided by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and local health officials from the Department of State Health Services (DSHS), Denton County Health Care Services and Denton County Public Health. The district will alert students, parents and staff of the disease activity level and when face coverings must be worn. Disease activity levels can be found here: https://www.lisd.net/Page/24343

Due to limited supplies, students and staff are requested to provide their own face coverings. However, each campus will provide face coverings for students and staff only as needed when an individual does not have their own.This also allows individuals to choose a specific covering for personal comfort.

LISD will address face covering requirements first as a teaching and learning opportunity. Students will receive reminders, reteaching, and redirection as needed. Consequences will not be applied unless students engage in willful, ongoing defiance of staff directions.

Staff will be required to self-screen for COVID-19 symptoms prior to reporting to work each day. Parents/guardians are expected to screen their students for COVID-19 symptoms each day prior to sending their student to school. Teachers will monitor students and refer to the nurse if symptoms are present.

If LISD needs to completely shut down for a period of time, the district will move into contingency plan B, which will require all remote learning. Remote learning will include a combination of asynchronous (at your own pace) learning and synchronous (virtual face-to-face) learning. The length of the shutdown will be based on health guidelines provided by state and local agencies.

If a class must close down due to quarantine or quarantine is required for some students, based on the guidelines that Health Services will use, then that class or group of students would switch to remote learning with the teacher following a remote schedule with students using WebEx and the students would still be able to be counted as present. The length of the group quarantine will be based on health guidelines provided by state and local agencies. LISD is waiting for further direction at this time.

At this time, the district has not been provided specific guidance on this. We will look for guidance from city, county and state officials when defining thresholds for school closures.

Campus operational guidelines will encourage and support social distancing where possible through classroom arrangements, learning design, and changes to arrival/dismissal, cafeteria and common area use, and other adjusted procedures. LISD does not expect that students will be able to remain 6 foot from one another or from staff for the duration of the school day.

Yes, the district has weighed the feasibility of keeping students in the same classroom all day, along with many other strategies being considered or implemented across the country and around the world. The District is currently planning the master schedule for campuses, which directly impacts the movement of students and teachers. At the elementary level, it is possible for specialized content teachers to move to students. This is not feasible in circumstances that require specialized classroom equipment or instructional settings. It is also problematic due to the large number and diversity of courses offered at the secondary level.