Charter schools to submit own restart plans

Review turnaround for proposals quick

The Nevada State Public Charter School Authority board decided Friday that each individual school it sponsors will develop its own reopening plan for the upcoming school year amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

The board voted unanimously to approve a procedure for how schools, which serve approximately 50,000 students in total, will submit their plans.

The planning process for schools is complex, charter authority Executive Director Rebecca Feiden told the board, noting there is a lot of information from state directives to filter through.

“We know there is also a lot of uncertainty that our schools and our communities are dealing with,” she said.

Under the procedure approved Friday, each school will develop a plan and submit it to its governing board for approval no later than 20 days before the school year is scheduled to start.

Once a plan is approved by a school’s governing board, charter authority staff will review it to ensure it’s in compliance with state requirements and will submit it to the Nevada Department of Education.

Charter authority staff believe each school’s governing body is equipped to make the best decision about reopening plans, Feiden said, noting that Nevada’s charter schools are in different geographic areas and use different teaching models.

Charter schools have the option of using in-person instruction while following social distancing, providing distance education only or using a hybrid format that combines both.

Schools are being asked to prepare for multiple scenarios, including ones in which the state is still in Phase Two of its reopening plan or where restrictions have been eased further, Feiden said.

Board member Tamika Shauntee Rosales asked if the authority will have enough time to review school reopening plans, particularly if there’s a problem with a plan.

“Certainly, it’s a quick turnaround on our part,” Feiden said, but noted she doesn’t anticipate any problem with reviewing the plans in time.

She said she doesn’t recommend an earlier deadline for schools because the situation with the pandemic is fluid.

On Tuesday, the Clark County School District released its reopening proposal, and the School Board heard a presentation Thursday night. The board won’t take action on the plan until July 9.

Contact Julie Wootton-greener at jgreener@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2921. Follow @julieswootton on Twitter.