TEA continues recommending six feet social distancing, despite updated CDC guidelines

The CDC says those plexi-glass sneeze guards used in a lot of classrooms have not been proven effective and are not really needed.

GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - The CDC says those plexi-glass sneeze guards used in a lot of classrooms have not been proven effective and are not really needed.

That's just part of the new CDC guidance for schools including reducing social distancing from six feet to three feet in most cases where students were masks.

But, it does not appear the Texas Education Agency is going to make any changes to its guidance for schools.

The CDC is relaxing coronavirus guidelines for schools, recommending on Friday that students can now sit three feet apart inside classrooms as opposed to six feet apart.

However, school districts like Grand Prairie ISD say for now they’ll maintain six feet of distance inside classrooms.

The TEA, which delivers its own guidelines to districts, says it’ll continue to recommend 6 feet.

Grand Prairie ISD says six feet between students still allows enough space to operate. But once more students return to in-person learning, they’ll reevaluate.

Precola Criswell hasn’t allowed her middle school child to return to face-to-face learning because she has asthma. She’s concerned kids, including her own, aren’t always obeying rules.

"Because she don’t like wearing her mask as it is," she said. "So I know her, she’ll take it off."

Tiffany Hunter, while preferring six feet, says she’s just glad her daughter is inside a classroom instead of learning virtually.

"It wasn’t working out too good because she couldn’t really focus so second semester we brought her in," she said.

The CDC hopes its updated blueprint allows districts across the country to safely reopen.

Millions of students in some other states haven’t been inside a classroom.

Virtual lessons are their only option because their campuses have been closed since last March.

Texas is arguably leading the way in reopening.

The CDC says if a school is in an area with high risk of community spread, high school and middle school students should maintain six feet of distance in the classroom. But three feet is still recommended for elementary students at any level of community risk because younger kids are less likely to get sick from COVID-19.