On Tuesday June 30, 2020, the TEA Commissioner Mike Morath stated publicly that 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grade students in Texas MUST take the STAAR Assessments for the 2020-2021 School year. Considering that we are in a pandemic with a spike in positive cases, even before school has started, and also considering TEA has NOT given definitive guidelines for COVID-19 protections for teachers, staff, and students for on-campus instruction - it is egregious that MIke Morath, TEA Commissioner, would announce mandatory testing for students now. TEA has already told Districts they MUST open campus for on-campus instruction to receive 2020-2021 funding. Many parents will not be sending their students back to school without clear guidelines about safety to protect against COVID-19. Also, Districts, and especially teachers, are grappling with developing hybrid models of learning to support the social and academic needs of all of our students. Now is NOT the time to think about standardized testing. Now is the time to come together to support our students and their families through this unprecedented time in modern education in Texas.