Flooding, Outages, Trauma: Schools Brace for Harvey's Aftermath

(from the New York Times) Most public and private schools in Houston intended to start classes September 5, but officials say they can't predict when roads will be passable and buildings will be safe to re-enter. With Hurricane Harvey continuing to deluge the area, "It's too early to tell how many schools have sustained physical damage," said Lauren Callahan of the Texas Education Agency. At least 160 Texas public school districts and 30 charter schools had closed by Tuesday, and the damage is expected to get much worse.

Doug Harris of Tulane University, an expert on how school systems react to natural disasters, said schools will need to be flexible in where displaced students are allowed to enroll, including undocumented immigrants. "The highest priority has to be getting students back to school," he said. "And counseling. There was a lot of trauma after Katrina."

Read more at the New York Times.

See all news items on NetAssets.org.