Could this school year actually be more challenging than the last?

When the first school bells ring across Texas just weeks from now, students, parents, and educators will head back into the pandemic unknown. The Jasons check back in with Dallas ISD Superintendent Dr. Michael Hinojosa. He was on Y’all-itics a year ago when there was so much uncertainty heading into a new school term. It feels like that all over again as he readies his mega-district for the start of the ’21-‘22 session. In fact, he’ll preside over three different school start dates this year. His district and others are getting creative and sharing ideas with each other. Critics say there isn’t much guidance coming from the state, except for orders that schools can’t mandate masks or offer a virtual learning option. So, what happens if kids have to quarantine? Flush with federal cash from Covid relief legislation, Dr. Hinojosa says DISD is hiring an army of tutors. The district also plans to self-fund a virtual option if the state doesn’t agree to foot the bill for it. Also joining the Jasons for this episode is Texas PTA President Suzi Kennon, with what the state PTA will be doing to help make a tough year easier and what she’s hearing from parents across the state. Kennon also gets real---as a mom---and shares her concerns for her own child as kids head back to class at a time when the highly transmissible Delta variant of coronavirus is aggressively spreading across Texas, which continues to struggle with a lackluster vaccination rate.