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Thursday, July 30, 20204 • GROESBECK JOURNAL LOCAL NEWS
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COVID-19 Roundup
The following news announcements are mainly from the Office of Gov. Greg Abbott (gov.texas. gov) and the Office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (texasattorneygeneral.gov), except where noted otherwise. They have been summarized for space considerations, but the full press releases are available at their respective websites.
Governor Abbott, HHSC Extend Deadline For Pandemic Food Benefits For Families Affected By COVID-19 School Closures
AUSTIN – July 28 - Governor Greg Abbott announced that the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) is extending the application deadline for the federal Pandemic-Electronic Benefit Transfer program (P-EBT) to August 21 to ensure eligible families have more time to apply for this one-time food benefit.
P-EBT is a one-time benefit of $285 per eligible child and can be used in the same way Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) food benefits pay for groceries. Eligible families include those with children who lost access to free or reduced-price school meals through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) due to school closures.
“The P-EBT program helps ensure that families continue to have access to healthy food as some schools, and subsequently school lunch programs, remain closed due to COVID-19,” said Governor Abbott. “I encourage eligible Texans to apply for these benefits so they can continue to provide food for their families during these challenging times.”
“If your family is eligible, we want you to apply for this one-time benefit because we don’t want to leave federal lunch money on the table,” said HHS Access and Eligibility Services Deputy Executive Commissioner Wayne Salter. “We’re pleased with how many families have so far received this benefit, but there are still thousands of eligible families in our communities that can apply for assistance.”
HHSC partnered with the Texas Department of Agriculture and the Texas Education Agency to launch the $1 billion federal program on June 1 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. More than three million children in Texas were certified to receive free or reduced-price meals at school during the 2019-2020 school year. To date, nearly $790 million in P-EBT has been issued to families, benefiting more than 2.8 million children. Families who are eligible for P-EBT were notified by their school districts in May. After completing the online application, families receive their benefits on a new Texas P-EBT card in the mail.
Families who have been denied but think they are eligible should contact HHSC within 15 days of receiving their denial notice. They can either call the P-EBT Call Center at 833-613-6220 or send an email to [email protected] with proof of free or reduced-priced meals. Proof includes the award letter that is sent to parents when their children become eligible for the National School Lunch Program.
Visit hhs.texas.gov/pebt to learn more about P-EBT and other types of proof acceptable. For questions regarding eligibility or to learn more, Texans may also contact the P-EBT Call Center at 833-613-6220, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Central Standard Time. When applying, it is especially important to include a valid phone number on their application. HHSC staff may need to call families to get additional information to approve P-EBT benefits. The deadline to apply has been extended to Aug. 21.
Texans in need can apply for benefits, including SNAP and Medicaid, at YourTexasBenefits.com or use the Your Texas Benefits mobile app to manage their benefits.
Governor Abbott, TMD Announce Texas National Guard Partnership With Active Duty, Reservists In Support Of COVID-19 Response
AUSTIN - July 24 - Governor Greg Abbott and the Texas Military Department (TMD) announced Joint Task Force Texas, a newly formed partnership between the Texas National Guard and Active Duty and Reservists to strengthen COVID-19 response efforts in Texas. More than 1,200 service members have come together from the Texas National Guard and the active and reserve components of the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force to support hospitals in Houston, San Antonio, Del Rio, and the Rio Grande Valley.
“This formal partnership will help ensure a more effective collaboration among state and federal resources, and allows us to better meet the needs of Texans across the state,” said Governor Abbott. “I thank our federal partners at the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Airforce for continuing to provide crucial support to the Lone Star State. The State of Texas remains committed to working alongside our federal partners to keep Texans safe and combat the spread of COVID-19 in our communities.”
“We are proud to work with our brothers and sisters in arms from the active duty and reserve forces to help our fellow Texans in need,” said Texas Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Tracy Norris. “The units of the Texas Military Department are not authorized with enough medical professionals to meet the current demand. Therefore, the Governor requested medical assistance through FEMA. That request is being met from the Department of Defense with active duty and U.S. Army medical professionals. By partnering with the active duty and reserve components, we will be able to provide this much needed support and relief to the Texas civilian healthcare workers who have been working tirelessly to care for the people of our great state.”
Texas Air National Guard Brig. Gen. Thomas Suelzer, appointed as the dual-status commander, serves as the commander of both Texas National Guard and federal service members.
Governor Abbott, HHSC Announce Extension of Automatic SNAP Renewals During COVID-19 Pandemic
AUSTIN – July 24 - Governor Greg Abbott announced that the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) has received federal authority to extend certifications by six months for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
(SNAP) recipients whose benefits are up for renewal in July and August. HHSC received federal approval from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to also waive interview requirements for new and current households.
“The State of Texas is committed to ensuring families have access to nutritious food throughout the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Governor Abbott. “By extending automatic SNAP renewals and temporarily waiting interview requirements, we will ensure more Texans have healthy meals for their families. I thank our federal partners for their continuous support as we respond to COVID-19.”
“As we continue to fight against COVID-19, these automatic
renewals provide food security and peace of mind to families in need during this unprecedented time,” said Texas HHS Access and Eligibility Services Deputy Executive Commissioner Wayne Salter. “Waiving interviews also reinforces that it is important to stay home when possible to minimize potential exposure to COVID-19.”
The interview waiver applies to new applicants as well as those whose benefits are up for renewal, and HHSC can process applications as they are received and make eligibility determinations faster.
The automatic renewals will extend the benefits of approximately 276,000 households who have not
yet turned in their renewal information for July and August. This extension is the latest change to SNAP since the onset of COVID-19. Other initiatives include the SNAP Online Purchasing Pilot, Pandemic EBT, and allowing the maximum, allowable amount of SNAP benefits by household size.
Administered by HHSC, SNAP is a federal program that provides food assistance to approximately 1.4 million eligible low-income families and individuals in Texas. Texans in need can apply for benefits, including SNAP and Medicaid, at YourTexasBenefits.com or use the Your Texas Benefits mobile app to manage their benefits.
Governor Abbott extends early voting period for November 3rd election
AUSTIN - July 27 - Governor Greg Abbott issued a Proclamation extending the early voting period for the November 3rd election by nearly a week. Under this proclamation, early voting by personal appearance will begin on Tuesday, October 13, 2020, and continue through Friday, October 30, 2020. The proclamation also expands the period in which marked mail-in ballots may be delivered in person to the early voting clerk’s office, allowing such delivery prior to as well as on Election Day.
“As we respond to COVID-19, the State of Texas is focused on strategies that preserve Texans’ ability to vote in a way that also mitigates the spread of the virus,” said Governor Abbott. “By extending the early voting period and expanding the period in which mail-in ballots can be hand-delivered, Texans will have greater flexibility to cast their ballots, while at the same time protecting themselves and others from COVID-19.”
AUSTIN - July 27 - Governor Greg Abbott announced that the grade promotion requirement related to the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) test for students in grades 5 and 8 has been waived for the upcoming school year. Typically, school systems must take into account a student’s score on the STAAR test to determine whether the student can be promoted to the next grade level. The traditional A-F rating system will remain in place, albeit with certain adjustments due to COVID-19.
Typically, students enrolled in grades 5 and 8 are required to re-take a STAAR test late in the school year, and sometimes again in the summer, if they do not meet grade-level when taken during the spring. With this waiver, there will only be one administration of the STAAR grades 5 and 8 mathematics and reading assessments for the 2020–21 school year. The test will be administered in May to coincide with the administration of other STAAR grades 3-8 assessments.
“As always, our goal is to provide a high-quality education for every Texas student,” said Governor Abbott. “This will be a uniquely challenging school year, therefore, this year is about providing students every opportunity to overcome the disruptions caused by COVID-19. By waiving these promotion requirements, we are providing greater flexibility for students and teachers, while at the same time ensuring that Texas students continue to receive a
great education — which we will continue to measure with high-quality assessments.”
“Parents deserve to know how well their children have learned grade-level knowledge and skills in reading and math, especially in a time when education has been substantially disrupted,” said Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath. “And educators use this valuable information to make adjustments to support students the following year. But there is no benefit to our children by requiring them to repeat a year based on a single test score given the disruptions of COVID, so we are waiving the grade promotion requirements from STAAR this year for our students.”
“Parents rightfully expect our schools to continue to meet a high bar and it is critically important that teachers and parents know how each child is progressing and whether or not they need additional help. A-F ratings will provide us with important information about school performance and, while we won’t use the STAAR test to determine promotions, it will continue to provide us with assessment data that we need. We face some unprecedented challenges in the upcoming year, but we must continue to keep our schools accountable and on track,” said Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick.
“During a time of great uncertainty, one thing is indisputable — we cannot allow an entire generation of Texas students to be disadvantaged by the unprecedented disruptions this pandemic has caused in our
education system. Not only will this approach do a great deal to reduce the ‘high-stakes’ burden of testing in a school year already complicated by this pandemic, it will hold schools accountable for providing a high-quality education while equipping teachers and parents with the information they need to make certain students are learning and remain on the path to educational success,” said House Speaker Dennis Bonnen.
“During these unprecedented times, with the State’s support, our schools should do everything they can to provide a quality education for our students. I also agree with Governor Abbott that our students should not be penalized by circumstances beyond their control, while recognizing the assessment itself provides important insight to grade-level achievement in a new learning environment,” said Senator Larry Taylor.
“With this waiver, we are ensuring that the success of Texas students remains the focus of this school year. These unprecedented times have brought much upheaval to these students’ lives and this is one thing we can do at the State level to help ease them back into their educational routines while still ensuring the institutions of education remain accountable,” stated Chairman of the House Public Education Committee, Dan Huberty.
To learn more, visit TEA’s FAQ guide on the Texas Assessment Program.
Governor Abbott waives grade promotion requirements for 2020-2021 STAAR testing
