Gov. Greg Abbott and the Texas Education Agency report that Texas will provide a hold harmless to Texas school systems for the rest of the 2020-2021 academic school year only. This means funding will be made available to school systems in Texas that have suffered enrollment and attendance declines because of the COVID-19 pandemic, as long as those schools maintain or increase current levels of on-campus attendance.

Districts will be funded on attendance in line with projections made prior to the public health crisis. This will ensure that school systems in Texas can retain teachers who were originally budgeted in the 2020-21 school year. This final semester of hold harmless means districts have been held harmless for three consecutive semesters: spring semester of the 2019-20 academic year and the entire 2020-21 academic year.

“As more districts return to in-person instruction, we are ensuring that schools are not financially penalized for declines in attendance due to COVID-19,” said Abbott.