AUSTIN, TX — Teacher and school staff from across Texas will rally in Downtown Austin to protest Governor Abbott’s and the Texas Education Agency’s "unsafe school reopening plan."
The rally will be on Saturday, July 18, 2020 at 11:00 AM and will include a caravan and socially-distanced sit-in along with digital efforts.
The caravan will circle the Capitol and TEA buildings along Guadalupe St, 11th St, Trinity St and MLK Jr Blvd, according to a press release.
The sit-in will occur in front of the Capitol at 12:00 PM.
According to the organizers, “We are giving names and faces to the word teacher. We are people with needs and concerns. We are desperate to return to school, but it must be safe for Texas teachers, staff and children. We seek to elevate the voices of over 8,000 individuals who have already expressed interest in the event."
The rally is organized by teachers for Safe School Opening with the following demands:
1) Require virtual instruction until county infection rate is below 0.5% of the population.
2) Hazard pay for all staff working on campus whether with students or teaching virtually.
3) Protected paid sick leave for COVID related illnesses, in addition to our regular state and local leave, for us or if we are out to care for our children.
4) Mandating that substitute pay is paid for by the district and NOT the teacher.
5) Districts must cover all out of pocket medical expenses for staff diagnosed with COVID.
6) Take CARES Act money back from TEA and give it to the districts it was promised to.
7) Free COVID testing for all school staff. 8) Allow staff to work virtually if anyone in their household is immunocompromised. The social-media rally and in-person rally toolkits are posted on our event page.
For more information, visit the event page at: https://bit.ly/MarchForTXTeachers
