Public health officials must choose COVID-19 data benchmarks by Aug. 7 for districts to rely on in deciding when to reopen schools for in-person classes.

The Arizona schools chief on Tuesday called on Gov. Doug Ducey to use data to reopen schools — and that’s what Superintendent Kathy Hoffman announced on Thursday in a joint news conference with the governor.

Ducey has ordered public health officials to choose data by Aug. 7 for schools to rely on when deciding when to reopen schools for in-person classes. And, he announced, when schools reopen, everyone will be required to wear masks, with some exceptions for students. The order also guarantees teachers will receive their full salary for the school year and provides an additional $370 million in federal CARES Act money for schools.

But the plan comes with a major requirement for schools.

Under the order, schools will be required to reopen for on-site learning on Aug. 17 for students who have nowhere else to go. That means, Hoffman said, districts must open at least one site for students to go, but do not have to open every school or require every teacher to show up to work in-person. Schools must begin instruction on the planned first day of school. If they cannot open in-person safely, under the order, then instruction must happen virtually on that first day and beyond.

Many educators, including Hoffman, had argued a previously established date of Aug. 17 was too soon, considering the number of COVID-19 cases in the state.

On Thursday, in an interview with The Arizona Republic’s political podcast, The Gaggle, Hoffman said involving public health officials in reopening decisions will help schools make the safest decision.

This executive order was designed for longevity, she said. Instead of hurtling toward a reopening date that could change, schools will decide based on numbers.

“Someone has to decide if it’s safe or not for schools to open,” she said. “And so how are we making that decision? How are we giving our schools the tools they need to make a decision that’s well informed?”

The announcement from Ducey is meant to offer Arizona families and educators clarity around reopening. But parents from across the state told The Arizona Republic that they felt more confused after watching Thursday’s press conference.

“It’s just this constant kicking the can down the road, hoping things are going to get better when they so clearly aren’t,” Stephanie Hendricks, a parent in the Madison School District in Phoenix, said. “The actual details of the policy won’t be available to us, to districts, to parents for another two weeks.”

Under the executive order, the Arizona Department of Health Services is tasked with setting a metric for reopening using health data by Aug. 7. New York has already set such a metric: That state will reopen schools in communities where the daily infection rate remains 5% or lower over 14 days.

Schools already have started making decisions around when to reopen, with some delaying in-person classes until October and others opting to open buildings in mid-August.

This order does not necessarily change those decisions, but it does bring local and state health officials into the fold. State health officials will have to build a framework around reopening, setting benchmarks using COVID-19 data points to guide school leaders. The framework will come by Aug. 7, which is past the usual start date of many Arizona schools.

Local school officials will make the final decision over reopening, but under the order they must “consider” the data-driven approach in consultation with the state and local health officials.

Schools must start instruction on the day they had planned to begin school if in-person classes are delayed. If in-person classes are not safe, then schools must provide remote learning on the first day of school under the order. Schools should strive to provide realtime instruction, if possible, according to the order.

It also gives parents a place to send their kids for learning starting Aug. 17. The order states that schools must offer free “on-site learning” for students “who need a place to go during the day.”

Morgan Dick, a spokeswoman with the Arizona Department of Education, wrote in an email that the intent of the provision is to provide a “safe learning space for students are at-risk, in special education programs or who are the students of essential workers.”

Dick wrote that the on-site learning will look different from district to district, and may include partnerships with organizations like the Boys and Girls Club.

“Should there be an overflow of need, ADE will be developing guidance to ensure that every child who needs a safe space to learn will have one,” she wrote.

Ducey’s order requires schools to provide 180 days of instruction, which is a requirement in typical years.

Andi Fourlis, superintendent of Mesa Public Schools, the largest district in the state, praised the governor’s plan to use data to decide on reopening.

“I had hoped that he would provide some more clarity and certainty around what those data points look like,” she said. “But I’m glad that we will guide our decisions by data.”

She said that the district would likely prioritize the children of essential workers in opening a site for students who don’t have a place to go.

The governor’s order also requires that everyone within a school wear masks, with exceptions for those who can’t wear masks because of medical conditions. Students also do not have to wear masks when social distancing, Ducey said.

“We want all of our students and teachers to feel safe at school,” Hoffman said. “One of the best ways that we can prevent transmission of the virus is by wearing masks, especially considering schools are places where people come together in groups.”