Mask Optional Protocol

We are aware that lawsuits have been filed by Dallas and Bexar counties against Governor Greg Abbott seeking to regain the authority for local jurisdictions to make local decisions, both of which are currently pending in the Texas Supreme Court. This evening the court issued a temporary stay reinstating the Governor’s order and blocking Dallas and Bexar county’s mask orders. We expect a final ruling from the Texas Supreme Court in the next few days.

These actions place school districts—including Lake Travis ISD—in the middle of a legal tug of war. However, at this time, we believe we are still legally mandated to follow the Governor’s current executive order. Accordingly, Lake Travis ISD will retain its “mask optional” protocol currently in place for all staff, students and visitors until further notice. While we respect and support personal choice, we also strongly encourage all staff, students and families to wear a mask while inside and on campus.

Elementary

7:40 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. (Regular Day)

9:40 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. (Delayed Start Day Only)

Secondary

8:50 a.m. - 4:10 p.m. (Regular Day)

10:50 a.m. - 4:10 p.m. (Delayed Start Day Only)

COVID-19 Dashboard

In the interest of transparency and in an effort to provide our community with a current snapshot of COVID-19 positive cases on our campuses and district facilities, we will once again maintain a public dashboard on our website during the coming school year.

A positive case indicates that a staff member or student was onsite in a district facility within two days of symptom onset or has tested positive for COVID-19. Individuals who test positive are excluded from participation in any in-person/on-campus activity until the individual meets the return criteria set by the state health authorities. Once the individual is cleared to return, his/her case will be removed from the dashboard.

The dashboard is currently posted on our Response to COVID-19 webpage and will be updated as needed.

Lake Travis ISD continues to experience a shortage of bus drivers. This is a challenge currently shared by many school districts across Texas. As a result, we will implement the following changes to our transportation services during the coming school year as follows:

• All routes have been modified.
• Some bus stop locations will be consolidated to main thoroughfares/streets at subdivisions and entrances/exits at gates to subdivisions.
• Bus services in West Cypress Hills for West Cypress Hills Elementary and Bella Colinas for Bee Cave Middle School will be suspended for the 2021-2022 school year.
• We will utilize current drivers and transportation department office staff to operate a second wave of pickups and dropoffs. Be advised, this will alter times to an earlier pickup and later dropoff for some of our student riders.

Parents may access Transfinder to view their student’s bus number, bus stop, and pickup/dropoff times.

Please note, due to our current driver shortage, we are not able to add additional student riders to our established routes at this time. As we begin the school year, we will evaluate routes and seat availability in an effort to accommodate additional riders. Additionally, we are working tirelessly to advertise and recruit drivers. In the meantime, parents are encouraged to transport their children to and from school, if and when possible.

We know these modifications to our transportation services may be challenging for some of our families, and we regret any inconvenience as a result of these changes. We sincerely appreciate your patience, understanding and support as we continue to do everything possible to safely and efficiently meet our increase in student ridership while addressing our driver shortage.

As we approach the new school year and welcome students back to our cafés, we would like to provide you with some important updates based on new guidance from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). According to the guidelines, schools that operate under the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs (NSLP/SBP) may offer student meals at no cost during the 2021-2022 school year under the Summer Seamless Option (SSO) waiver. LTISD will be participating in the SSO waiver this year, supporting our efforts to provide safe meals by eliminating the need to collect payments, including cash, in our cafés. This will result in differences between food service operations in our elementary and secondary campuses outlined below:

Elementary (Grades PK-5):

• All LTISD elementary students will be offered meals at no cost.
• No application or eligibility determination is required for students to receive free meals.
• Income eligibility requirements will likely resume in the 2022-2023 school year.
• To ensure a seamless transition between the 2021-2022 and the 2022-2023 school years, families who wish to maintain eligibility for the first 30 days of the 2022-2023 school year are strongly encouraged to complete an application during the 2021-2022 school year.

Secondary (Grades 6-12):

• LTISD secondary schools do not participate in the NSLP/SBP and are not eligible to operate under the SSO waiver.
• Regular pricing will remain in effect.
• Families in need of meal benefits for students in grades 6-12 must submit an application to establish eligibility for free or reduced-price meals for the 2021-2022 school year.

Additionally, the Food and Nutrition Services Department has been impacted by labor shortages created by the pandemic. Due to these challenges, we have had to limit the number of serving lines and some menu options. In an effort to avoid longer than usual wait times in our school cafés, we encourage students to bring lunch from home when possible.

We appreciate your patience and partnership as we continue to do everything possible to accommodate our students and their nutritional needs. We wish our families a safe, happy and healthy new year!

In an effort to improve student safety and security districtwide, all Lake Travis schools will continue to support SMART tag throughout the 2021-2022 school year. The SMART tag solution was expanded from a bus badge-only system to a multi-service platform in August 2020.

All students will receive a new ID badge upon return to in-person learning on campus. Secondary students will be required to display their ID badge (wear on their person) throughout the school day in accordance with our Lake Travis Secondary Schools Student/Parent Handbook 2020-2021.

Aside from student identification, the badge supports automation and increases the efficiency of key services in a contactless manner including bus ridership, elementary dismissal, library book and technology device checkout, school meals, and our Extended Care after school program. Only the student’s photo, name and associated barcode will be printed on the ID badge. No other information will be stored on the badge, nor will badges be used to track a student’s location.

The SMART tag system also offers a secure Parent Portal where parents and guardians can manage notifications and alerts regarding transportation services and student dismissal changes. To access an existing SMART tag account, or to register a new account, visit the SMART tag Parent Portal. Please note, the same Parent Portal will be used to access student bus ridership and elementary dismissal.

For more information about SMART tag, please visit the SMART tag section on our website.

Beginning Monday, August 16, all students in grades 6-12 are required to reset their passwords in our LT1 ClassLink platform. The password reset does not impact elementary students in grades K-5.

• Using your preferred device, go to your school website and click on the LT1 ClassLink icon at the top of the page. Or, you can also type “lt1.ltisdschools.org” into any web browser.
  
  

• To login, enter the student’s username and password, then click the “Sign In” button. Student usernames begin with the letter “s” followed by the student number. (Example: 's123456'). Parents can find their student’s username, also called the Student Number, in Skyward Family Access under the Student Profile section.
  
  

For students in grades K-5, passwords are in a fixed format and are not reset. The password is the student’s birthdate using the following format: year in four digits, month in two digits, and day in two digits. (Example: a student born on March 17, 2006 would use the password “20060317”)

For students in grades 6-12, initial temporary passwords are specific to the student’s graduation year as follows:

A graduate of the class of 2022 would use the password format “LTISD#2022!” Here’s another example: a graduate of the class of 2025 would use the password format “LTISD#2025!”

Graduation Year Passwords:

High School

2022 - LTISD#2022!

2023 - LTISD#2023!

2024 - LTISD#2024!

2025 - LTISD#2025!

Middle School

2026 - LTISD#2026!

2027 - LTISD#2027!

2028 - LTISD#2028!

It is important to note that this will be a temporary password. After initial login to LT1 ClassLink, all secondary students will be immediately prompted to create their own unique passwords.

For technical assistance, please contact the Technology Department Helpdesk at 512-533-6565, option 1.

The Lake Travis Education Foundation has kicked off its 2nd annual Kinder Club. The program welcomes and celebrates incoming kindergarten students to Lake Travis ISD.

Due to cancellation of the Kinder Club parade prompted by inclement weather on August 15, t-shirts and swag bags will be available for pickup at each elementary campus during Meet the Teacher on Tuesday, August 17. Bags may also be picked up at the LTEF office in the LTISD Administration building between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Do you have a Kindergarten student in LTISD? You can still sign up to receive a Class of 2034 t-shirt and Kinder Club goodie bag at www.lteducationfoundation.org/kinder.

On behalf of the LTEF, we wish all kinder students and their families a great start to the new school year.