Gov. Inslee Tells WA School Districts To Reopen Classrooms

Seattle WA

12 March, 2021

4:44 PM

Description

By Donna Gordon Blankinship, Crosscut March 12, 2021 All of Washington's public school districts will have to offer students a chance to learn in person at least part-time by mid-April, Gov. Jay Inslee announced on Friday. The governor's emergency proclamation will come early next week, less than two weeks after he invited teachers and other school employees to get in line for a COVID-19 vaccine. Teachers across the state have said they didn't feel safe going back to the classroom without the vaccine. Now the governor is telling school districts it's time to reopen schools. The governor's office noted that this decision was required to help students who are struggling academically, as well as facing mental health challenges in part because of the isolation of remote learning. The emergency proclamation tells all school districts to offer a hybrid model of education, combining in-person and remote learning for all students. The governor set deadlines for compliance, which will be included in the proclamation he will issue next week. By April 5, all kindergarten through sixth grade students must be given an opportunity for some in-person learning. By April 19, all students in grades 7-12 must be offered some classroom time. The proclamation will also say that by April 19, school districts must offer at least 30% of average weekly instructional time as on-campus, in-person learning. No student must be offered less than two partial days of in-person education. While following all COVID-19 health guidelines, schools are also instructed to keep working to offer more in-person learning until their schools reach maximum capacity with physical distancing inside classrooms. The governor's office noted Washington schools have received an estimated $2.6 billion in pandemic relief from the federal government, which should help school districts make the transition back to in-person learning. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concluded in a peer-reviewed report that schools do not contribute significantly to the transmission of COVID-19. But numerous school coronavirus outbreaks were also reported in January, almost simultaneous with the CDC report, including 10 new school outbreaks in New Jersey and 29 school outbreaks in Michigan. As the Poynter newsletter for journalists writing about the pandemic points out, the science around school reopenings is not settled. More than 100 school districts across the state are already offering some in-person or hybrid education in at least some grade levels. But many of the state's school districts, including Seattle Public Schools, are still trying to figure out their reopening plans. Crosscut is a service of Cascade Public Media, a nonprofit, public media organization. Visit crosscut.com/membership to support independent journalism.