AUSTIN, Texas – As it stands Thursday morning, students in the Austin Independent School District are slated to begin online instruction on August 18. In-person learning is not scheduled to begin until at least September 8.

What You Need To Know

  • Austin ISD Board could vote to push start to school year to September 8

  • Decision would align with demands made by teacher union

  • Board to consider high number of COVID-19 cases in Travis County, infection rate

  • Board also to decide on waiver that would extend online learning period

That could change, though, based on the outcome of the Austin ISD Board of Trustees meeting Thursday night at 9 p.m. The board will decide whether to push the start of school back to September 8. Four weeks of online learning would ensue, and then there would be four weeks of what is described as a phase-in period for on-campus learning.

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Factors board members will consider are the high number of COVID-19 cases in Travis County, the fact that Austin-Travis County remains in Stage 4 of Austin Public Health’s risk-based guidance, Travis County’s infection rate, and the disproportionate number of Hispanic people afflicted with COVID-19 in the county.

Education Austin, the union for AISD teachers, earlier this month called for the start of the school year to be pushed to September 8 and requested certain criteria be met before in-person learning resumes.

RELATED: AISD Teacher Union Calls for Delay to School Year, Additional COVID-19 Protections

Among the criteria, Education Austin doesn’t want schools top open and in-person learning to begin until there is a decline in new cases of the virus for a minimum of 14 days, a positive test rate of less than 5 percent, and a transmission rate of less than 1 percent.

The board Thursday night will also consider a waiver allowing for four additional weeks of online learning during the phase-in period at AISD schools.