Extended 20-21 School Year Proposed

The 20-21 school year is about to get longer. The Dallas Independent School District (DISD) school board will vote Thursday on a new Dallas ISD calendar that could push the end of the school year to mid-June.

Under the proposal, classes would begin three weeks later than scheduled on September 8. And the last day of school would move back three weeks as well — from May 28 to June 18.

The DISD plans to release a detailed back-to-school plan this week. It will include the precautions the district plans to take when students return to campus, but that may not be enough for some campus educators.

“I have kidney disease and I have a breathing condition, asthma…” said educator Ronny Swank.

A military veteran who teaches middle school, Swank said his dream is to be back in the classroom. “But, I’m so scared, sir, to go back under bad conditions,” he said. “I made my wife a promise that when I walk in that classroom, if I don’t feel safe, I am simply going to walk out.”

20-21 School Year

The current calendar has school opening August 17, but a Dallas ISD Trustees meeting Thursday will decide if the open will be moved back past Labor Day, September 8.

News reports have Superintendent Michael Hinojosa anticipating all campuses re-opened on that date with teachers on campus “unless the situation keeps getting worse.”

He was one of the primary voices that kept schools from closing in the spring until the middle of Spring Break which resulted in a handful of COVID19 infections being passed at the school level.