Hays County releases regular updates on the number of confirmed cases and other local statistics related to COVID-19.
And the most recent data of new reported positive cases shows Hays County might have reached its peak during the first couple of weeks in April.
On Tuesday, May 12, Governor Greg Abbott extended his March 13 COVID-19 Disaster Declaration for all Texas Counties.
The disaster declaration provides the state a number of resources to effectively serve Texans as the Lone Star State continues to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
The declaration states that the novel coronavirus poses an imminent threat of disaster for all counties in Texas.
“By extending my Disaster Declaration, we are ensuring the state of Texas continues to have adequate resources and capabilities to support our communities and protect public health,” said Governor Abbott. “I urge all Texans to continue practicing social distancing and abide by the guidelines laid out by the CDC and my Executive Orders to slow the spread of COVID-19.”
AUSTIN – Governor Greg Abbott announced that the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) has applied for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Category B assistance funding to provide financial support to Texas’ network of food banks.
If approved, this funding will provide nearly $70 million for Texas’ network of 21 food banks and will allow food banks to work with their supply chain networks to shore up supplies and provide more nutritional support to those in need.
“This funding is crucial to helping ensure our network of food banks can continue to provide food to Texans in need,” said Governor Abbott. “Our food banks have tirelessly served their fellow Texans throughout the COVID-19 response, and this pandemic has led to a quick depletion of supplies and resources for these organizations. The State of Texas is committed to giving these organizations supplemental support during these challenging times so they can continue providing resources to those in need. I thank TDEM for working closely with FEMA to apply for these funds and remain grateful to the staff and volunteers of our food banks here in the Lone Star State. These selfless and hardworking Texans represent the very best of our great state.”
AUSTIN – Governor Greg Abbott has directed the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC), the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM), and the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) to test 100% of residents and staff in Texas nursing homes.
The Governor instructed HHSC, TDEM, and DSHS to develop and implement a plan based on the guidance of Vice President Mike Pence and Doctor Deborah Birx.
“The State of Texas is working to rapidly expand our testing capacity—especially among vulnerable populations in Texas nursing homes,” said Governor Abbott. “This important collaboration among HHSC, TDEM, and DSHS will ensure that any potential clusters of COVID-19 cases in nursing homes are quickly detected and contained.”
AUSTIN —Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar is reminding taxpayers that the due date for 2020 franchise tax reports was extended to July 15 to be consistent with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
The extended due date applies to all franchise taxpayers. It is automatic, and taxpayers do not need to file any additional forms.
The original due date, May 15, was extended last month in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and to provide Texas businesses relief.
The Texas franchise tax is a tax imposed on each taxable entity formed or organized in Texas or doing business in Texas. Unlike the sales and use tax, the franchise tax is not collected from the consumers of those taxable entities.
Franchise taxpayers who need an extension beyond the July 15 date have these options:
AUSTIN – Governor Greg Abbott and the OneStar Foundation announced the Texas COVID Relief Fund, which will provide critical funding and resources to organizations across the state working on the ground to support the economic recovery of local communities.
Funds raised will be distributed through grants focused on the areas of community and economic development, healthcare, and education.
“There is nothing more powerful than Texans helping Texans, and the Texas COVID Relief Fund is another way we can come together to support those in need and help our communities respond to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Governor Abbott. “I thank the OneStar Foundation and their partners for their commitment to helping Texans through these trying times. By coming together and supporting one another, we will overcome this challenge.”
“Communities across Texas are stepping up to meet the needs of everyday Texans in heroic ways,” said Chris Bugbee, President and CEO of OneStar Foundation. “We are grateful for Governor Abbott’s leadership in providing the Texas COVID Relief Fund as a resource to embolden efforts across the state to meet the needs of our neighbors impacted by the pandemic.”
Additional information on the new Texas COVID Relief Fund or to donate, please visit OneStar Foundation website.
The creation of OneStar Foundation is to support the State of Texas by strengthening the nonprofit sector, encouraging civic engagement through service and volunteering, promoting innovative strategies to address local issues, and facilitating public-private partnerships to expand the reach of nonprofits.
During times of disaster, OneStar Foundation is designated by the Governor to raise and distribute funds to eligible organizations working on the ground to support the economic recovery of Texas communities devastated by disasters.
AUSTIN – The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) began offering an alternative issuance process for Texas learner license holders, as well as alternatives for individuals seeking a commercial learner permit (CLP) or additional endorsements on their commercial driver license (CDL). These changes come as Texas driver license (DL) offices remain closed due to COVID-19.
LEARNER LICENSE UPDATE
(Please note: This only applies to individuals who already have a learner license and are in the DL system.)
If a person currently has a learner license or a license restricted to driving with a licensed operator in the front seat (LOFS), through the new alternative issuance process, they will be able to submit the following documentation to DPS to have the restriction removed
Due to school closures, the Verification of Enrollment will not be required for minors to complete this process.
The above documents can be mailed or emailed directly to DPS. Detailed information about the process, what is needed, and how to send them to DPS can be found online at www.dps.texas.gov/DriverLicense/LOFS.htm.
Once all documents are received and entered into the system, a new license without the LOFS restriction will be issued. It’s important to note that when emailing the required documents, the fee must be mailed to the department.
THIRD-PARTY TESTING FOR CLP/CDL
In response to COVID-19, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is allowing Third-Party Skills Test (TPST) providers to conduct knowledge tests for individuals seeking to obtain a commercial learner permit (CLP) or an endorsement on their CDL. This change is effective until June 30, 2020.
DPS is working with current CDL TPST providers to temporarily allow them to administer knowledge tests to their students or employees only.
This will allow a student or an employee of a CDL TPST provider to take knowledge tests from their school or employer to receive a CLP or an endorsement(s) on their CDL.
Instructions have been provided to all CDL TPST providers, and individuals must contact a CDL TPST provider to begin the knowledge testing process.
All other CDL applicants will still need to schedule an appointment for testing with a local DL office by emailing cdlappointments@dps.texas.gov.
REMINDER ON DL OFFICE CLOSURES, EXPIRATION DATE EXTENSION
Effective Thursday, March 19, 2020, DL offices across the state were closed until further notice due to COVID-19.
Additionally, due to the current public health disaster, the expiration date of Texas DL/CDL/ID/Election Identification Certificates (EIC) cards have been extended.
This means that if your Texas DL/CDL/ID/EIC card expires on or after March 13, 2020, it falls under the period that encompasses the State of Disaster Declaration related to COVID-19.
It will remain valid for 60 days, after which time DPS issues a public notice that the extension period for this disaster declaration has been lifted.
It’s important to note that this extension applies to the expiration date only.
A person who is not eligible to drive due to an active enforcement action (suspension, revocation, or denial) may use the card for identification purposes only.
MORE INFORMATION
For additional information related to the impact of COVID-19 on DL services, please visit our website at www.dps.texas.gov/DriverLicense/covid-19.htm.
Initiative Aims To Close Digital Divide For Texas Students
AUSTIN – Governor Greg Abbott, the Texas Education Agency (TEA), and Dallas Independent School District (DISD) today launched Operation Connectivity, a statewide initiative to deliver internet connectivity and device solutions for school districts, families, and students in Texas.
Operation Connectivity was initially started in Dallas to address the lack of high-speed internet and/or home laptops for many DISD students, which caused an interruption to their learning, as education in the classroom transitioned to at-home digital instruction due to COVID-19.
This initiative now aims to provide internet connectivity to hundreds of thousands of students statewide.
“As Texas students continue their education at home through virtual instruction, it is essential that we provide them with the resources they need to connect and communicate online,” said Governor Abbott. “I applaud Dr. Hinojosa and DISD for developing this innovative initiative for Dallas schools, and look forward to expanding Operation Connectivity statewide so that we can implement reliable and effective solutions that will close the digital divide for students across the Lone Star State.”
“We are grateful for the work of Dr. Hinojosa and his leadership on this necessary undertaking in Dallas and are delighted to be working with the Governor to take this effort statewide. With students learning remotely, for the time being, it’s more important than ever for all our students to be able to access academic content at home. In order for that to happen, all students in Texas need access to computers and/or tablets, and the internet outside of the classroom. Operation Connectivity is providing the right solutions to this big challenge,” said TEA Commissioner Mike Morath.
The Operation Connectivity Task Force will lead the statewide implementation of this initiative. DISD Superintendent Dr. Michael Hinojosa and TEA Commissioner Morath will serve as co-chairs of the task force.
Senator Larry Taylor, Chairman of the Committee on Education in the Texas Senate, and Representative Dan Huberty, Chairman of the Public Education Committee in the Texas House, will serve as members of the task force.
The task force members will also include representatives from the following entities:
The Operation Connectivity Task Force will gather critical information to determine which children in the state do not have internet access and/or home devices, document best practices, identify and secure technology solutions for broadband and devices, develop actionable playbooks for districts across the state, identify funding needs and help secure resources, demonstrate “lighthouse” examples, including at DISD, and push for federal and state-level policies that connect more students learning at home to available technology resources.
The task force will convene as a full group every month to review progress and resolve roadblocks, which will help to ensure the overall effort stays on-track.
Working teams that support the larger task force will meet on a more regular basis to move forward on achieving milestones.
A group of representatives from the Office of the Governor, TEA, and DISD—along with others—will be in regular communication to ensure rapid progress on this initiative.
New tool for districts provides teletherapy services for at-home learning, with the support of speech-language pathologists
AUSTIN, Texas – The Texas Education Agency (TEA) announced that its partnership with AmplioSpeech, a leading provider of speech pathology technology, has reached 10,000 Texas students with special education needs.
The collaboration is a response to the COVID-19-related shutdown of school campuses statewide. It equips school districts with digital speech and language therapy programs, which ensures that students needing such services are receiving them via at-home learning.
With COVID-19 forcing students and teachers out of the classroom for the remainder of the 2019-20 academic year, school systems across Texas had to figure out how best to stand up methods for at-home instruction.
Among the most significant challenge that schools have faced is finding the most effective way to serve students with special education needs when classroom learning is not an option.
TEA’s partnership with AmplioSpeech greatly aids such efforts. The platform allows licensed Speech-Language Pathologists to interact remotely with students to provide speech therapy required by the student’s special education individual education program.
TEA made the tool available for free for school systems who signed up to enroll the first 10,000 students in the service.
Within 24 hours, more than 100 school systems had signed up. Hundreds of trained SLPs are enlisted to provide students with a range of speech-language services.
Additionally, in the event some schools need more helping hands during this time, AmplioSpeech makes available it’s own trained and licensed SLPs.
TEA also ensured that the tool could be scaled up by school systems themselves to support every special education student in need of remote speech therapy support.
There are more than 250,000 Texas students currently eligible for speech services.
“TEA immediately identified the need for a solid solution to help vulnerable students during this unprecedented crisis,” says Dr. Yair Shapira, Founder, and CEO of AmplioSpeech. “As a father to a child who stutters, I was moved by TEA’s clear focus on students’ vital everyday needs. Their decisive commitment to put our unique technologies in the hands of dedicated Texas SLPs is making a world of difference for thousands of Texas kids.”
Speech-language deficiency can lead to poor academic performance. AmplioSpeech’s technology supports online speech-language therapy for SLP students to minimize their risk of falling behind academically or losing any progress made throughout the regular school year.
Additionally, the program automates and guarantees compliance, progress, and billing-related documentation to give speech-language pathologists more time to focus on what matters most: serving students.
This tool joins a host of resources created by TEA, and it’s Special Education Taskforce to support students in special education during the COVID-19 disruption, which can be found online at https://tea.texas.gov/texas-schools/health-safety-discipline/covid/covid-19-support-special-education-0.
Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath said, “TEA is committed to ensuring strong support is provided to students in special education. As schools grapple with providing high-quality remote instruction to all students, this tool helps solve a critical problem to improve education for hundreds of thousands of Texas kids.”
The vast spread of COVID-19 has caused significant compliance challenges for school districts nationwide.
The TEA-AmplioSpeech partnership is providing an innovative way to engage students with speech and language therapy needs.
It supports large caseloads remotely, effectively allocating SLPs’ instructional time and support, documenting progress, and contributing valuable monitoring and oversight services during this particularly challenging period for students and their families.
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