School districts across the state are still hurting thanks to the lockdowns and school closures from 2020.
More than 150 thousand Texas students are reportedly no longer enrolled in school. Each one of them worth 5,500 dollars in tax payer funds for their district. Losing the money is bad enough, but educators say they're worried about the long term impact on the students.
“The tragedy there, is learning loss that could be happening for thousands, tens of thousands of students across the state of Texas. And that time, we can’t get that back,” Emily Sass, Policy Director for the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Center for Innovation in Education, said.
Sass says the state and local school districts shouldn’t abandon these students. She says its vital resources go to helping find and get those students back on track. As tech companies flock to Texas, she says districts can start offering classes like computer programming that more aligned with available jobs.