The TEA does not care about our children, our families, or our communities. They are doing absolutely anything they can to NOT to protect our children. No virtual schooling during a pandemic, parents are allowed to send children who have been exposed to covid to quarantine AT school. The complete opposite of what quarantine is! My kids are so excited to be back at school but unfortunately I am seriously considering withdrawing them and home schooling.

As a teacher, I feel completely abandoned. Our first job as educators is to protect children. They are making our jobs impossible. The cognitive dissonance is literally killing us. They do nothing and expect the teachers to do it all.

Why in the world, with the new surgence of the Delta variant, would TEA not even require children, too young to be vaccinated, to quarantine when someone in their household tests positive for Covid? “As long as they aren’t showing symptoms” is reckless. With Delta, you can be contagious before ever showing symptoms, or even asymptomatic as many have now proven to be, even children. That just puts all of their classmates in danger. TEA needs to put the children and school employees’ health and well being first...before the money. Children under the vaccination age should be required to wear a mask and given the option of virtual learning, no matter their underlying health, as well as quarantine when someone in their household tests positive or in their classroom. It’s common sense. TEA needs to be more responsible with our children’s lives and be held accountable for negligence when being irresponsible. Come on, TEA, do the right thing.

How is it possible you care more about money then you do human life!! Why would you make it mandatory for all kids to go back to school in Laredo TX when you hear of all the cases spiking again! This is so wrong that now the school doesnt even have to report when they have a positive case in school 😭

Protect our children, teachers and staff. Place value on what’s important.

They litterally dont care if our children get sick and die

Why is it that when a kid gets head lice, everyone gets contacted, but when a child gets Covid-19, you dont contact anyone? Why is head lice more important? Get it together yall disgust me.

They didn’t cancel the STAAR test for the 2020-2021 school year. No virtual/online learning for students who want learn at home. TEA probably doesn’t care about the kids.

What a complete disaster and lack of consideration for human life and health. The new COVID protocols are an embarrassment to our country. You think its ok to walk around with a potentially deadly communicable disease and not tell anyone? The lives of those who were losing will hang over your heads.

Way to drop the ball on COVID and pretend like it doesn’t exist. What a joke of an agency.

I have to give a STAAR to rate but I would give them and Vanessa Alba a -100 in terms of review. They throw out compliance and mandates and decide during a pandemic to make everyone complete a very difficulty exam with poor information to prep new teachers! Plus the exam is not meant for those that teach intermediate! its so RUDE and shows how uncaring and dreadful they really are... Makes me sick to my stomach knowing you have to deal with them if you want to be a teacher.

TEA has not planned properly for adapting to online (safe) learning. Instead of investing in perfecting online learning, they clung to old methodology regardless of the safety of teachers, students and their families. This year STAAR assessments will show what everyone already knows: that we are going through a pandemic.

So, the TEA fails at rolling out the high stakes STAAR test during the middle of a pandemic. The TEA fails their own competencies, but is in charge of the competencies of all Texas students? Unacceptable.

Shame on yall for making students take the STAAR test this year AND making it a graduation requirement. There absolutely no point. We already know the grades are gonna be low.

They have stringent requirements about lice but not covid? Why???

Holding districts hostage by threatening to withhold funding? How is that advancing and supporting education? Requiring that AISD meets 44% in-person attendance in the last 6 weeks of the school year over .32% of the total budget will do little to improve district finances while putting countless lives at risk UNNECESSARILY! You already forced teachers to risk their health by teaching in-person and now youre pressuring AISD families to send their students to the classroom. Let parents decide what works for their children. Neither the TEA nor Elizalde give a damn about the safety of their staff or students! One is doing Abbotts bidding and the other is being complicit. Shame on Abbott, Morath and Elizalde!

First of all, they chose someone that never worked in education to lead this agency. 2nd of all, they kept insisting to go through with E.O.C . this year even though many students arent doing well virtually. Now, we are having techniqual difficulties with the STAAR online .

The TEA has handled this pandemic very poorly, adding to the unemployment numbers and not caring for the education of our children. The constant change in teachers, the added stress with the changes, the lack of instruction, and lack of communication are just a few examples of the issues right now. The TEA needs to work on their priorities. As long as there are children learning from home, there should be teachers able to teach from home. Get your head in the game and help our Texas Education, our children, the furture!!

First off, why is a man who was a SUB for a single YEAR, never a full time teacher with a classroom of his own, running the agency that is in charge of our schools and teachers?While the TEA is safe in their homes, working remotely until January 2021 at LEAST, they are perfectly okay with sending kids and teachers alike to their deaths so that they do not lose the 90 million dollars they spent developing a test which the only purpose of is to show that the kid can take a single test (and remember, not all kids are good test takers) and doesnt actually prove their knowledge of a subject.It is so nice to know that this agency does not value the lives of teachers or students and that they only care about the money. Thank you for standing up for your salaries instead of lives.

Can yall make people choose if they want to wear a mask because their are people who want to wear one in school and people that dont and i dont want to wear it to school

Maintaining a mask mandate after the governor lifted the mandate is not right. Whether or not to wear a mask needs to be decided by each person, not you.

Policies that literally make no common sense. On campus students that are at home sick are not allowed to log on to the zoom to keep up with their work?!No wonder this whole school year has been terrible. Lack of organization and basic common sense from the top.

TEA is terrible. They don’t care about the teachers who work so hard everyday. Can’t believe this, they try to take away from their paychecks and they make teachers teach in person. Do they not know that theres a pandemic? And don’t even get me started on STAAR. Even with all that’s happening they are still making students take the STAAR, unbelievable. This is just declining their mental health. Terrible Education system. This is why kids don’t want to go to school.

TEA does not value the life of Texas teachers or students. While they are working completely remotely, they are sending people back to schools DURING A LITERAL PANDEMIC. Schools are ill-equipped, and its just impossible to manage that many people in a tiny space. Instead of spending money to reopen schools, they can continue to provide money for the staff that tirelessly works from home, and we can keep everyones families safe. Breathing and life is a human right! We do not need to jeopardize this when students can still receive education from home!

TEA does not understand how much hard work student have to put into the year. AND THEN THEY GIVE US A FOUR HOUR LONG TEST WHICH IS TO “measure” OUR PROGRESS. THEN WHAT ARE REPORT CARDS AND PROGRESS REPORTS FOR? Honestly this is what makes students not want to learn or go to school. Take it from a student who has severe anxiety because of testing. In all honesty, I think we should not have a test at all, or at least make it shorter.

I htae u mathia bad

TEA is a joke. I reached out to try to get help in regard to an ARD meeting being held without my consent. The meeting was not held at a mutually agreed upon time and place. The school did not make attempts to convince me to attend the meeting. TEA did a joke of an investigation and of course sides with the school district because the school hired attorneys to fight their battle. People wonder why special education students have a higher dropout rate. Its because no one wants to help them and we are at the mercy of the district. You dont have a say in anything even though parents are supposed to be the ones who say how their child is supposed to be educated. Texas is failing special education students.

They give students so much unnecessary stress to learn

How is it that our property tax dollars have been paid, and yet the TEA is going to just not give funds to schools that do the RESPONSIBLE THING and CLOSE DOWN?? The money is there! Students can learn and teachers can teach from home. This is an unprecedented global crisis. FUND OUR SCHOOLS.

The agency has several former educators and helpful staff who work to provide guidance and support to all campuses and districts across Texas.

Inability to give standardized test.

What qualifies Morath to head TEA?? Whats in his resume that Im not seeing?? Also, why is it okay for TEA to work remotely and teachers cannot?? I have a high risk pregnancy and there are no safeguards in place for me. The only options I have is to take basically unpaid leave (one that utilizes all of my earned time and once that expires Im on leave without pay). This is with all my doctors recommending I not work f2f with students. Teachers have no inside representation and our hands are tied and we are being forced into a unsafe environment riddled with stress and uncertainties. They didnt even actually cap class sizes to allow for social distancing. Im only seeing a few pieces of ppe, posters and stickers...

TEA is not practicing what they preach. It is unreasonable to refuse to use public health data to decide when in-person instruction is safe for students AND school staff. Furthermore, it is hypocritical to threaten to withhold money from districts who need to teach virtually from a pandemic hotspot while TEA plans to work and meet remotely until January 2021! Please stop valuing politics and the testing machine over the literal lives of students and staff and their families.

Back in the beginning of the pandemic, questions had immediately been coming up to how children would be affected with public education. The thing is, there were answers. Online education! For those that don’t have access, laptops made accessible, or is that only for rich kids? The food banks are ready to stand with the children but not TEA. School is about community and enrichment. There is no doubt that in a fearful and anxious environment, growth will not occur. DUH.

TEA is determined to invest a substantial amount of funding into STAAR testing that is of questionable value but care nothing about the health and safety of the students and staff in our schools. Its all about data.

Under Morath, TEA is encouraging schools to open buildings with loose guidelines implemented “when possible” while Texas has a high positivity rate. No concessions for high risk personnel. Provided schools with excuses and talking points. If only staff and students mattered much as much as STAAR.

This agency is actively putting students and families lives at risk, they are so far removed from what happens in the classroom. Trash. If I could negative 5 put of 5 I would.

The fact that you people said we can’t have mandatory statewide online classes instead of sending our children to these PETRI DISHES disguised as classrooms is SHAMEFUL! Y’all claim it’s safe for OUR kids to have in person learning yet your offices are CLOSED until 2021. Y’all are working from home due to COVID-19 concerns but our kids can’t!! You people are HYPOCRISY personified!!!!!

TEA has a history of harming educators and the students they serve. TEA is not disbursing the $1.2 billion in federal CARES act funding it received that is supposed to go to school districts for COVID mitigation. TEA refuses to act decisively to protect both staff and students from COVID by strong arming school districts into opening for face to face instruction. TEA insists that $90million should be spent for STAARtesting this year, in the middle of an active pandemic, instead of cancelling the test and reallocating those funds for COVID mitigation such as upgrading school HVAC systems or buying a cable station to stream school lessons like they are doing in Mexico.Very bad. Do not recommend.

The STAAR test was the most important part of each grade as I climbed the ladder of schooling. Looking back, I want to know “why?” What’s the point of stressing out children and teachers starting at the third grade? Why did I spend that many years tripping over a test just to graduate highschool this year, and still not even know how to do taxes, or how to hold financial responsibilities? The important things that should be taught in highschool are beyond disregarded. The TEA obviously doesn’t spend time looking to see what really happens in classrooms.

They are taking all of history out of schools

TEA can fund a state test during a pandemic that cost millions of dollars to administer, and want to pressure schools to reopen by taking away funding if they do not open. So sad that TEA does not care about teachers.

The TEA should not exist. Public education in TX was working well before this good for nothing agency came along. Getting rid of TEA is the solution for our schools.

TEA is making certificate-seeking participants to take too many tests that cost way too much money, even in times like these. Its unfair and has cost these people a lot of cash just because theyre trying to be teachers.

Very bad. Would not recommend. Places money and politics over the lives of children and educators.

TEA doesnt care about children, educators, or parents. They hold funding hostage during a pandemic and say Were in this together. Theyre insisting on in-person classes when their staff are only working over zoom. Millions of people are suffering because of their greed.Eat the rich.

Your guidelines for opening schools are unrealistic and dangerous. You have put more time and thought into standardized tests than the lives of children and educators.

STARR tests during a worldwide pandemic

The lack of leadership during this pandemic is beyond me. We need to defund and dismantle TEA and have an organization that puts students and teachers first.

Are the TEA offices going to open in August? Id like to see you guys go in rather than work remotely since schools will be opening in August.

0/0 stars would not recommend

No regard for teachers, nor education. Terrible leadership.

Agency politicized education issues, doesn’t support teachers when in need, it doesn’t provide adequate guidance needed to benefit the interests of students much less school staff members.

TEA clearly does not value teachers. It bends to the will of those who have no experience in education and have no actually investment in our future.

Not an education agency. This was bought and paid for by Pearson and ETS...

I have spent the last hour going around in circles as I try to figure out how to apply for a Texas teaching license. I am licensed in the state of Nevada. My original understanding was that our states had full reciprocity, but in trying even to log into your system, all I do is going around in an endless loop. At this point, I think it will take me less time to simply drive in to Austin and see if I can get a real human being to help me. Your website, at least as pertains to my present needs, is pretty worthless.

TEA does NOT value the lives of students, educators, and families. They value MONEY. Period.

In response to William Zhou, Texas is not a common core state! The TEA has developed its own standards for its own education districts. Please ensure you rant in the right location. I am a teacher who has taught in a Common Core State and now I teach in Texas.

Where Justice is served for children like us. Gugu Justice #5050justuice

The fact you tied school funding to schools open in person in the middle of a pandemic speaks volumes to how wicked you are...sham shame shame

You and your staff are still working remotely. Yet you are forcing students, teachers, admins and all these families back to crowded buildings that will surely become infected? There is nothing else to say. It is sad when the leadership of Texas, does not care about Texans.

Cares more about giving money to Pearson than it does about the lives of students.

Stole $1.3 billion in cares funding that was supposed to go to schools. issued guidance on STAAR before opening guidance. closed offices till January while mandating schools open or lose funding

Sigh

Yall garbage but ok.

I wish there is someone answering the phone who understands me better !!! I say ESL, she says MATH?

Great Staff! Some of the best technical people Ive ever encountered in public or private sector!

They are putting politics before people.

Georgia Clark doesnt deserve a job in education.

In reference to William Zhous comment: TEA did not come up with Common Core. It was a consortium of governors that came up with it. Regardless of its flaws, and I agree that there are many, the reason for it was that when states were coming up with all of their own standards there was a huge discrepancy. The best example I have is from my Curriculum Leadership textbook (Parkay, Hass, & Anctil). One of the essays in it talks about how Alabamas state test used Dick and Jane reading selections (recall that they are supposed to test reading at an ending 10th grade level) and Massachusetts was using a selection from Dostoyevsky. In our very mobile national and global economy it is extremely problematic to graduate students with such a wide discrepancy when they may be seeking jobs in states other than those they were educated in. Hence the attempt at creating a common core standard.

Can somebody please answer the phone? You dont even deserve to exist.

A great agency for the 1850s.

Thats a great initiative, thanks to Texas Govt.

Great training, friendly staff, clean, beautiful building.

I love working here

Sad leadership.

I was an eyewitness to horrific child abuse in a special ed classroom of kindergarten and first graders and the TEA did nothing EXCEPT CALL IT A WRONG USE OF TIME OUT!!!!!!!!!!!

Wish someone would actually answer the phone

Awesome

The schools are calling parents to tell them that in January their children will only be able to receive classes on the internet for only 45 minutes for the entire period of the school day !!I tell you I do not agree because 45 minutes is not enough time for a child to learn but I am not going to send my children to risk their health just because you occupy government funds !!!You can’t guaranteed the health of the kids while at school but love to put pressure on us, the reason because you already need the fundings !!!The schools are calling parents to tell them that in January their children will only be able to receive classes on the internet for only 45 minutes for the entire period of the school day !!I tell them I do not agree because 45 minutes is not enough time for a child to learn but I am not going to send my children to risk their health just because you use government funds !!!