Leaders of school districts heavily affected by Hurricane Harvey told a legislative panel on Monday that they would like to see Texas' accountability and testing requirements relaxed in the wake of the disaster. They also said the storms have dealt a financial blow and that they weren't optimistic about being reimbursed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency or insurance anytime soon.
The superintendents gathered for a special meeting of the Senate Education Committee at the University of Houston. The senators are considering what recommendations to make to the state for K-12 hurricane recovery efforts and how the state should provide funding to school districts that lost students and buildings after the storm.
Since Harvey, local school officials said, they've shouldered almost all of the costs of running shelters, reopening schools and accommodating students who were left homeless. And they don't anticipate much help from FEMA or their insurers.