The Texas Education Agency (TEA) says it has ordered millions of masks, gloves and other personal protective equipment (PPE) to help the state's public schools welcome students back to classrooms in 2020-21.
With about 5.5 million students, public schools will need significant amounts of equipment to combat the Covid-19 virus and keep students and staff safe when in-person classes resume.
The TEA says its has ordered the following:
•Disposable masks: 50 million
•Gloves: 10 million
•Hand sanitizer: 500,000 gallons
•Thermometers (infrared and no-contact): 40,000
The agency also plans to acquire reusable masks, but has not yet ordered them. It tentatively plans to order 12.5 million reusable masks.
Other protective equipment—face shields and desk dividers—may be ordered, but state officials have not determined how many will be needed.
The state is allocating the protective equipment by using 2019-20 student and on-campus staff headcounts.
The largest district in the state—the Houston Independent School District—will receive 1.85 million disposable masks, 680,000 gloves and 19,000 gallons of sanitizer.
The TEA says districts are expected to receive the protective equipment between mid-July and early August.
"Districts maintain the discretion and responsibility for distributing the PPE according to their local context," the agency says.
