AS MANY STUDENTS AS POSSIBLE?
The latest state guidelines leave door open for more in-person classes
RICHMOND — Assuming the number of coronavirus cases in school buildings are sporadic and unconnected, new state guidelines emphasize bringing back as many students as possible even when case numbers are elevated.
If schools aren’t seeing outbreaks and staffing and attendance is stable, the changes announced Tuesday say, schools should open “to the maximum extent possible.”
That means The guidelines specify that means students across grades and could include full-time in-person learning. Masking and social distancing would still be needed, and hybrid learning might still be required to keep space between students.
But they’re the strongest set of guidelines yet from the state to say even if case numbers remain high, schools should be bringing back students, even older students.
“We’re seeing a decline in academic performance, and we’re seeing increased behavioral problems and mental health issues,” Gov. Ralph Northam said at a news conference Tuesday. “So I’m glad that our children are getting back to the classroom, because that is where they need to be.”
Local school officials have cited the space constraints of social distancing and staffing shortages as some of the barriers to more in-person learning.
The new guidelines, based on
guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued last month, recommend social distancing continue no matter what case numbers look like. Six feet should be maintained “to the greatest extent possible” with as little as three feet is okay if it’s necessary for schools to open.
But they also say the importance of six feet depends somewhat on local case numbers. Staying six feet apart is the “standard” in the guidelines for middle and high schools when cases are elevated. For other grades, the state says three or six feet of distance is “strongly recommended” and “critically important” when community spread is high.
If case numbers drop to moderate or low levels of transmission though, the state says three to six feet is just “recommended” for all grades.
The guidelines say this flexibility aims “to balance reasonable efforts to prevent disease transmission with the feasibility of offering in-person instruction to as many children as possible.”
The guidelines, like the multiple sets of previous guidelines, are ultimately just recommendations. Northam maintained at Tuesday’s news conference that it’s up to local school leaders to interpret the guidelines.
“We have allowed the school districts to look at the data in their neighborhoods and make a determination on how they move forward with in-class learning,” Northam said.
The governor set in early February a deadline of March 15 for districts to start offering in-person instruction. Every district has since submitted a plan to the state to bring at least some students back, although some don’t plan to bring all grades back this school year.
With the one-year anniversary of Northam’s school closure order looming, the state has continued to push reopening.
He visited schools in Louisa County on Friday and Gloucester County on Monday to highlight their in-person learning.
“We’ve seen the difference this is making,” Northam said. “The enthusiasm is real, and I want to thank everyone who is working so hard.”
Some of the substantive changes in Tuesday’s guidance are based on changes from the CDC last month to how it defines high community transmission.
The five color-coded categories that schools have relied on since the fall have been condensed into four: low, moderate, substantial and high. A large swath of the state remains in the high transmission category.
The metrics themselves have changed too. Instead of looking at two weeks’ worth of new cases and the percentage of tests coming back positive, the CDC recommends now only looking at the past seven days.
The CDC guidelines recommend K-12 schools open for full in-person instruction only in the lowest two categories, with six feet of distance “to the greatest extent possible” along with mitigation measures like masks can contact tracing. Hybrid learning is mostly recommended at more elevated levels.
The state’s guidelines ask school leaders to weigh the CDC transmission categories against the impact to schools. That’s a somewhat subjective measure, based on outbreaks in school, student absenteeism and staffing levels.
With much of the state in the high transmission category, the guidelines recommend most students learn virtually temporarily only if school impact is high — if there’s multiple outbreaks, for example, or teacher shortages that leave too many classrooms uncovered.
State officials are optimistic that positive trends in case numbers will continue. Northam said Tuesday he believes the state’s vaccination campaign is going well, noting that about two-thirds of school staff in the state have gotten at least one dose. About 40% have gotten both doses.
“We’ve got more data and science than we did six months ago, and we know there are ways for schools to hold in-person classes safely,” Northam said.