New rule allowing students 3 ft. apart is a ‘game-changer’ for some districts
Since California schools were given the green light to allow students back into classrooms, 6 feet has been the official standard for socially distancing students. Then last weekend, the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control and then the state changed their guidance in response to new research showing students — properly masked — were safe at 3 feet apart.
The difference between 3 feet and 6 feet is drastic in terms of getting more students into an in-person educational environment. These new guidelines allow desks to be much closer together, doubling how many can fit into a classroom.
“That is just a game-changer for us,” Rosedale Union Superintendent Sue Lemon said.
It means in the home stretch of a roller coaster year that many local school districts are considering one more change in hopes of bringing more students on campus or keeping them on campus for what feels like a traditional day. Even those who may not implement the 3-foot rule immediately acknowledged that it could impact plans for summer or fall sessions.
For many districts, 6 feet makes it impossible to fit everyone who wants to return to in-person learning at once.
The most common way to handle this has been to split up elementary students into afternoon and morning sessions, and junior high students into alternating days. Gyms, cafeterias and theaters became classrooms. But those fixes could only go so far to meet demand at some schools.
The district that changed its plans most drastically in the wake of the new guidance was Kern High School District. Administration said that under the 6-feet rule, space was at a premium on campus, and it would
“While it is great to have the opportunity to bring more students back into classrooms where learning happens most naturally, we will likely not be back to what is considered normal for some time.”
— Kern County Superintendent of Schools Mary Barlow
only be allowed to bring back stable groups, like special education students and students in its career technical education programs, along with one grade. KHSD settled on allowing seniors to enjoy part of their final year on campus, but on Thursday the district announced that all its students would be welcomed back on campus by the end of April.
KHSD is one of the largest districts in the county, and perhaps the state, to move that quickly, but it was also far from alone.
Fruitvale School District told parents that thanks to the new distancing rule and decreasing COVID rates, it was going back to a full-day schedule for its primary grades on April 12 and intermediate grades on April 19.
Superintendent Leslie Garrison said parents have been enthusiastic. Many parents who previously opted to remain in distance learning previously are making the switch. Some working parents couldn’t manage a pick-up or drop-off in the middle of the day, but the prospect of a longer school day, especially paired with daycare, is doable.
At one school, 19 families have requested to make the switch from distance learning to in-person instruction. Garrison noted that there still will be limits on how many students will be in a classroom.
“We are accommodating where we can,” she said. “We can’t overload a classroom.”
Some school districts, like Rosedale Union and Panama-Buena Vista, sent out communication to their parents this week gauging their interest.
Lemon said that Rosedale Union was already discussing switching to a full-day model with COVID rates declining. The board wanted to make sure parents are comfortable with another substantial schedule change with the end of year closing in. The letter to parents asks them to consider switching to April 26.
Even so, Lemon said the 3-feet rule bodes well for next school year.
“It helps us think about a more normal 2021-22,” she said.
PBVUSD, which is in the final stages of its reopening plan, is considering another big schedule change. Jennifer Irvin, assistant superintendent of educational services, said the district sent a survey this week to parents inquiring about their interest, and its schools will follow up with parents after spring break to help make a final decision.
The Kern County Superintendent of Schools has advised some caution to districts that are updating their COVID-19 safety plans to return more students.
“The new 3-foot distancing standard is good news, but it is also important to manage expectations,” Kern County Superintendent of Schools Mary Barlow said in a statement. “While it is great to have the opportunity to bring more students back into classrooms where learning happens most naturally, we will likely not be back to what is considered normal for some time. Schools must remain focused on careful planning and execution of their reopening plans and introduce students back to campuses incrementally.”
KCSOS spokesman Robert Meszaros added that districts should check in with staff and update their bargaining units, because their agreements may include language about social distancing that may need to be renegotiated.
And there are some important caveats to the rule: The social distancing protocol is only in place between masked students. Six feet is required between adults and also between adults and children. And the Kern County Superintendent of Schools has been telling districts that if there are any instances where there is a question about mask adherence, it’s important to err on the side of 6 feet. Meals are one example where students will still need to be spaced out, for example.
The Bakersfield City School District plans to stick with the 6-feet social distancing rule for the remainder of the school year. Deputy Superintendent Mark Luque told the board this week that the decision was made largely because it wouldn’t make a difference for BCSD in terms of bringing its students to campus.
“We feel confident that at 6 feet we can meet the demand from our request to come back,” he told the board.
Students haven’t returned yet to BCSD but the plan is for elementary teachers to teach in-person in the morning and virtually in the afternoon. At some districts where demand for in-person instruction is higher, some teachers have two in-person sessions and teach to students at home simultaneously.
Superintendent Doc Ervin told the board he worried if guidance would change again, since it seems to change frequently. But he said the district may transition to using the 3-feet guidance for summer school as a “pilot.” And Luque said he’s hopeful that by the time school starts in August, even that 3-feet rule may be further relaxed.