SAN ANTONIO – Kids in Texas have already headed back to class — either in-person or virtually — but a recent report is saying the Lone Star State is not the safest when it comes to reopening schools.
WalletHub looked at factors like the number of child COVID-19 cases, class sizes and the ratio of students to nurses to determine just how safe schools across the nation are during the coronavirus pandemic.
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Texas received an overall rank of 35, with Vermont coming in as the safest state for schools to reopen.
Texas fared worse with a “risk of COVID-19 infections” rank of 42. The state ranked at 22 for “health and financial infrastructure.”
WalletHub used the risk and the infrastructure methodology to determine the overall ranking.
“Risk of COVID-19 infections” methodology was based on factors like: COVID-19 deaths among children, COVID-19 cases among children, use of the school’s transportation, face-covering mandates, average class size, and the share of seniors living with school-aged children.
The report found Texas ranked at 48 for states that have the highest share of seniors living with students.
“Health and financial infrastructure” looked at reopening guidance, the ratio of students to nurses, healthcare for COVID-19 patients and spending on elementary-secondary school students.
“An extended lack of in-person schooling can lead to issues such as decreases in academic progress (especially in low-income districts), damage to mental health and social development, and less physical activity among students, according to the CDC,” WalletHub states. “However, a state should not resume full-time in-person schooling until the current public health crisis from COVID-19 is sufficiently minimized in that state.”
WalletHub released its findings on Monday, a day after the Texas Department of State Health Services reported 735,132 coronavirus cases and 15,522 deaths, up from 733,438 and 15,485 deaths reported the day prior.
The San Antonio Metropolitan Health District has confirmed 57,145 total COVID-19 cases and 1,130 total deaths in Bexar County, as of Sunday, an increase of 56 new cases.
About 5.5% of the county’s virus cases are children ages 0-9, and about 10% are those ages 10-19.