On Wednesday, Governor Greg Abbott, the Texas Education Agency (TEA), and the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) announced the creation of a COVID-19 Rapid Testing Pilot Program for Texas school systems. This program will help schools conduct rapid tests of district employees and students — with the written permission of their parents — to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 on campuses. Through this pilot program, TDEM will provide participating school systems with COVID-19 rapid antigen tests that will be administered to students, teachers, and staff who choose to participate. Schools enrolled in the program will also receive personal protective equipment (PPE) to safely administer the rapid tests, which produce reliable results within 15 minutes.
The launch of the pilot program will include eight participating school systems with plans to significantly ramp up the program across the state. Texas public and private schools interested in applying for the testing program will be able to apply through the Texas Education Agency no later than Wednesday, October 28.
The first eight school systems participating in the program include:
- Bob Hope School (Port Arthur)
- Fabens ISD
- Grace Community School (Tyler)
- Granger ISD
- Lampasas ISD
- Longview ISD
- Harlingen Consolidated ISD
- Ysleta ISD
