Minnesota schools will be able to reopen this fall without strict social distancing if state coronavirus metrics “continue to stabilize and/or improve,” according to guidance issued Thursday by state health and education officials.
The documents instruct schools to continue planning for three different scenarios: in-person learning for all students, distance learning only, and a hybrid of the two.
The state will announce by the week of July 27 which scenario will be in place for the start of the new school year. Schools will be allowed to implement more restrictive measures but not less restrictive.
Under the most optimistic scenario, schools “should create as much space between students and teachers as is feasible during the day, but will not be held strictly to enforcing 6 feet of social distancing during primary instruction in the classroom,” according to health department guidance.
Additional guidance for that scenario includes:
- Screening for fever and other symptoms for all students, staff and anyone else entering school buildings or boarding school buses.
- Staggered arrival and dismissal times.
- A “strong recommendation” that students and staff wear face masks or shields throughout the day.
- Smaller student-teacher ratios to allow for greater distancing.
- Alternative arrangements for students and staff who are at high risk for illness due to the coronavirus.
- Lunches that are individually packaged or served directly to students, and meals eaten in classrooms if cafeterias are crowded.
- Outdoor music and physical education classes, when possible.
- No more large group gatherings, such as assemblies, field trips or large-group playground use.
- Frequent handwashing, cleaning and self-monitoring for signs of illness.
Under a hybrid approach, buses and schools would operate at no more than 50 percent capacity and with social distancing in place at all times, in addition to the above precautions.
If distance learning is fully in place, as it was for the last three months of the last school year, students would learn exclusively from home, and school buildings again would be closed except for such activities as child care for critical workers.
State officials said their guidance could change during the school year depending on how the coronavirus spreads. And schools in different parts of the states could be under different guidelines.
“It is possible that there (will be) recommendations based on an outbreak or surge” so that students are studying from home in one county while a neighboring county is sending its kids to school, Deputy Education Commissioner Heather Mueller said.
The education department this week posted an online survey where parents can offer basic feedback about distance learning, whether they intend to send their children back to school in the fall, and what precautions would make them feel better about in-person instruction.
TIME TO PLAN
Republican state Reps. Ron Kresha, of Little Falls, and Sondra Erickson, of Princeton, criticized officials for not giving direction to schools sooner than late July.
“(The Minnesota Department of Education) should step aside, and allow our locally-elected school boards and superintendents chart the best path forward for the next school year,” Kresha said in a news release. “We don’t need one agency in St. Paul to decide for an entire state how best to proceed.”
Erickson said schools will need more time to hire staff and prepare for the new school year.
Joe Gothard, superintendent for St. Paul Public Schools, said the state’s timeline gives him enough time to prepare without having to worry about the guidance changing again before the school year actually starts.
He said district teams have been planning for weeks for what must happen under the three scenarios being considered.
A particular challenge will be the logistics of busing students while maintaining “as much space between riders as possible,” as the guidelines require. The health department recommends adding routes, but schools have struggled to hire enough drivers in recent years.
NO CHILD DEATHS IN MN
Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm said Thursday that health and education officials expect to learn more about the virus in the coming weeks before a decision is made about the start of school.
“There’s evolving and growing knowledge all the time about the virus,” including the role children play in its transmission, she said.
Through Wednesday afternoon, COVID-19 was a factor in the deaths of at least 1,344 Minnesotans, but none have been under 20 years old. The state says 2,446 people ages 6-19 have been infected — about 8 percent of Minnesota’s confirmed cases.
On a call with reporters Thursday, Kris Ehresman, infectious disease coordinator for the state health department, urged young people to take precautions to avoid spreading the disease following reports of large group gatherings. She was asked why, then, is the state preparing to reopen its schools?
“We’re really trying to balance the critical role education plays in society and in a child’s life with public health needs,” she said.
For now, Ehresman said, that means holding off on social activities that could put them and others at risk.
The planning guidance for schools seems to acknowledge that Minnesota is headed in the right direction as it battles the pandemic.
COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations have been trending down in Minnesota since the start of the month, and the positive rate for diagnostic tests is down significantly from its early May peak.
Gothard said state officials seem to want to believe that schools will be open in September.
“That sounds like a really great thing,” he said.