What 3-foot social distance means for reopening of state schools

The largest impact could be eliminating the need for hybrid learning in the fall

New state and federal Covid safety guidelines that reduce the recommended minimum distance between students from 6 feet to 3 feet should make it easier for California schools to return students to classrooms full time, but most districts are not likely to make the change until the fall.

Instead, many district officials contacted by EdSource expressed reluctance to make changes to instructional models this school year because most have either reopened or plan to reopen campuses in the next few weeks.

They say the revision, which the Centers for Disease Control announced on March 19 and the California Department of Public Health adopted a day later, has come too late to redo reopening plans one more time, with two months left in school this year. Many would have to renegotiate changes to reopening plans with their unions and seek approval from their school boards.

Districts will “adjust cautiously” to the new 3-foot minimum and probably follow through with the plans they’ve recently adopted, said David Gordon, Sacramento County superintendent of schools.

Derick Lennox, senior director of Governmental Relations and Legal Affairs for the California County Superintendents Educational Services Association, or CCSESA, agreed that the main impact will be in the fall, by making it logistically possible for full-time in-person instruction. “That paves the way to get out of Zoom school,” he said.

“The latest guidance from the CDC and the California Department of Public Health comes after months of planning at the local level for a safe return to in-person learning,” said Jeff Freitas, president of the California Federation of Teachers, the state’s second-largest teachers union. “We are concerned that our schools lack the time needed to now update other mitigation measures, including adjusting ventilation based on an increased number of students in classrooms.”

However, those districts that had tied labor agreements specifically to CDC and state reopening guidelines, without tying them to a minimum rate of Covid infection or full vaccination protection of teachers, can probably cite the change to pivot quicker. Some are using the opportunity that 3 feet offers to now switch to a four- or five-day, fullday schedule in elementary schools. Some districts, including El Dorado Union High School District, plan to adopt that schedule for upper grades, too.

Palo Alto Unified, which has been operating with morning and afternoon shifts of in-person instruction in most elementary schools since the fall, will switch to full-time, full class instruction on April 19 for grades 3, 4 and 5, with younger grades to follow at the end of April, said Superintendent Don Austin. Half of elementary school students’ families have chosen distance learning for the rest of the year, and that won’t change for them and for middle and high school students.

The Centers for Disease Control lowered the recommended distance between students last week because new U.S. and international studies showed not only that Covid transmission has been low in schools where students are required to wear masks, but also that it didn’t make an appreciable difference whether social distancing was 3 feet or 6 feet.

While both the CDC and California had adopted the 6-foot rule, the state’s guideline allowed the minimum distance to drop to 4 feet when 6 feet was not “practicable.” County offices of public health interpreted the distinction differently, with most sticking to 6 feet, while others, including rural counties, made 4 feet the default minimum. San Francisco Unified will follow San Francisco Department of Public Health guidelines and retain 4 feet between students’ desks when campuses reopen on April 12.

The 6-foot guideline seems like it will remain the norm, for now, in most large urban districts.

Fresno Unified, which has 73,000 students, will continue with plans to begin reopening campuses on April 6 with student desks set 6 feet apart, according to spokeswoman Vanessa Ramirez. The policy follows county public health guidelines, which still recommend that schools practice6feetofsocialdistancing in indoor and outdoor settings, she said.

The 30,000-student Modesto City Schools will transition from distance learning to partial in-person instruction for grades 7-12 starting March 29, but students will do two days in person, three days online, as originally planned. The 3-foot rule didn’t change Santa Ana Unified’s resolve to stay in distance learning for the rest of the school year, although the 50,000-student district may increase the size of cohorts of struggling students getting extra help in school while learning on Zoom.