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Irving ISD denies staff requests to work from home amid COVID-19, teacher shortages

The director of the United Educators Association says the district ‘ripped the rug out from under’ at-risk employees.

Irving ISD has denied requests from 150 staff members to work from home, citing a teacher shortage amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Among those asked to return to campus were a teacher’s aide currently on oxygen support, a special education teacher on immunosuppressants and a teacher of 20 years who just completed chemotherapy, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Irving ISD spokeswoman Nicole Mansell said the district is trying to balance providing a quality education to students with protecting the health and safety of employees.

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Every six weeks, families can choose whether to attend school in person or virtually. The number of in-person students increased “at a rapid rate,” Mansell said, with nearly 15,000 students, or 46%, attending campuses.

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As of Nov. 20, more than 300 Irving ISD staff members were out due to the Family and Medical Leave Act, quarantine or other vacancies, Mansell said. In some cases, the district sent central office staff to supervise classrooms.

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“Because of the increased number of face-to-face learners each six weeks, it had become an undue hardship for the district to continue allowing remote work arrangements to occur,” the district said in a written statement. “Quite simply, we do not have enough teachers [or paid substitutes] to adequately supervise the face-to-face learners.”

Cases of COVID-19 have surpassed 11,000 in Irving, which is the hardest-hit city in Dallas County besides Dallas itself.

Since Aug. 10, when staff reported to work, Irving ISD has reported 377 COVID-19 cases among staff and students. Of those, 94 are active and the rest have recovered.

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“What Irving has done is ripped the rug out from under a lot of employees who are at-risk,” Steven Poole, executive director of the United Educators Association, told the Star-Telegram.

The district said no employees are being denied accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

“Teachers are our greatest asset to ensure that our students excel,” Mansell said in a prepared statement. “As a district, we are committed to the health and safety of all employees and to the success of all students.”