Fair Oaks Ranch and Van Raub Elementary Schools to Open as Scheduled

July 28, 2020

As you recall, on July 17th the San Antonio Metropolitan Health Department issued a health directive that delayed the opening of on-campus instruction until September 7th for all schools in Bexar County. This resulted in an eighteen-day delay of in-person instruction for two of our Boerne ISD schools, Fair Oaks Ranch and Van Raub Elementary Schools. 

Today, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued legal guidance related to Local Health Authorities that stated that the decision on when and how to open school is one that is made by local school officials, not the local health authorities.

Based on the AG’s legal guidance, both Fair Oaks Ranch and Van Raub Elementary Schools will be allowed to open as scheduled on August 12th with both In-Person and E-Learning along with our remaining 10 schools. 

Parents at both Fair Oaks and Van Raub are able to choose which learning option is best for their children and will not be opening school 100% online as Bexar County originally mandated on July 17th.

As a follow-up to the AG’s guidance, the Texas Education Agency stated today that campuses that did not offer an in-person educational opportunity would not be funded.

As of Monday, July 27th, over 65% of FORES families and over 61% of VRES families have selected the In-Person option for their students. Overall, over 77% of all BISD families selected In-Person, while 23% chose E-Learning.

As we proceed with our opening on August 12th, we will continue to work with our local health directors to identify any local spread of the virus, including contact tracking by the county, and craft metrics that are related to the safe opening and closing of individual campuses when necessary. 

Thank you to Attorney General Ken Paxton for having confidence in BISD and school districts across Texas to execute our Back to School plans. Thank you, as well, to Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath, along with our State and Local Elected Officials for offering guidance during this process.

We look forward to safely opening school on August 12th!

For more information from the Texas Attorney General please click here.