TEXAS – School districts across the state will begin sending weekly COVID-19 infection reports to state education officials starting Tuesday.

Districts were notified of the new electronic reporting method at the end of August and are required to submit cases that were reported to schools prior to September 8.

According to the Texas Education Agency (TEA), the data will be used to “…support state policymakers, district leadership, educators, and parents to make future decisions on how to keep school populations healthy while supporting students’ educational needs.”

Districts will be asked in the reports when new cases were identified, whether the person infected was a student, teacher, or support staff, if the person infected contracted the virus on or off campus, and whether the campus closed because of the outbreak.

Reports will be submitted each Monday and will include any case numbers from the previous school week.

As part of the data collection initiative, the TEA is also collecting information on how many students are attending on-campus classes across the state.

The districts will be asked to report those numbers twice over the next two months, once on September 14 and again on October 5.

“Together, these two data collections will allow TEA and DSHS to review statewide information on COVID-19 cases in schools to better inform public policy decisions that will continue to be made related to COVID-19,” read a letter sent to districts from the TEA about the new reporting.

By the end of September, Texas Department of State Health Services will start publishing weekly aggregate positive case numbers by district.