In-person classes up to local school officials
They know what’s best in each locale, state says
While the governor did announce that extracurricular activities, including sports, would be put on pause during the new three-week shutdown that begins Saturday, decisions on whether school buildings will remain open for inperson classes will continue to be left up to local school officials.
“We are constantly working with our school communities to make sure they can create the safest learning environments possible.”
When Gov. Tom Wolf announced a new set of statewide restrictions Thursday aimed at stemming the rising tide of the COVID-19 pandemic, it surely felt familiar to many.
Many of the new mitigation efforts — like closing gyms, forbidding inperson dining and limiting the capacity of retail stores — were similar to actions taken previously.
But one step that was taken before, back in midMarch when the first wave of coronavirus was just beginning in the state, was noticeably absent: closing public schools to in-person classes.
This time, public school buildings are allowed to remain open.
While the governor did announce that extracurricular activities, including sports, would be put on pause during the new three-week shutdown that begins Saturday, decisions on whether school buildings will remain open for in-person classes will continue to be left up to local school officials.
During a press conference Friday, acting Secretary of Education Noe Ortega said a statewide school closure mandate would not ref lect the intricacies of the pandemic that differ from school district to school district.
“There is no one-sizefits-all policy for the commonwealth,” he said, later adding that local districts have a better understanding about what’s happening at their level.
When asked directly what it would take for a statewide shutdown of inperson classes to be implemented, Deputy Education Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education Matt Stem later said that’s a question being asked everywhere.
“That’s a good question. I think it’s one that I think every leader around the world is trying to answer right now,” he said.
Stem said department officials are watching research efforts around the world, including a current one in France looking at transition trends in elementary school students, to find an answer.
“We will use those
— Acting Secretary of Education Noe Ortega
re
sults to inform our next steps,” he said.
Currently, 14 of the 18 school districts in Berks County are offering at least some in-person instruction.
Ortega lauded the efforts of school and community leaders who have been working the past nine months to address the countless challenges the pandemic has created for schools.
“School communities have been doing a remarkable job,” he said.
And, Ortega said, the Department of Education will continue to provide as much guidance and as many resources as it can to help in the fight.
“We are constantly
working with our school communities to make sure they can create the safest learning environments possible,” he said.
One new statewide policy that has recently been enacted stands to double down on that effor t, Ortega said.
School districts in counties deemed to have a substantial risk of communit y spread of COVID-19 are now required to submit and post on their websites attestation forms. Every district in the 66 counties in the substantial risk category has complied.
The forms indicate that a district agrees to follow the latest statewide guidance and orders when it come to the coronav irus, specifically an updated mask mandate and guidelines on what to do when COVID-19 cases are reported in schools.
However, Ortega and Stem sidestepped questions about how the depar tment w ill ma ke sure schools are actually following the rules they agreed to.
When asked what specific enforcement measures will be used, Stem said the department has seen local school leaders overwhelmingly doing the r ight thing. W here there are exceptions, he said, the department will respond fully and accordingly.
Neither Stem nor Or tega laid out what a full and according response would be.
Stem also said the first line of accountability for school districts is the lo - cal community. That is why attestation forms and health and safety plans, where school districts map out what they plan to do to mitigate the spread of the v ir us, are required to be posted on districts’ websites.
If school districts aren’t living up to those promises, the department does have a complaint system, Stem said. Complaints will be investigated and, if needed, the department will leverage the appropriate next steps, he added.
Stem and Ortega also passed on answering a question about the spread of COVID-19 inside schools.
When asked if he had any evidence to show whether the coronavirus had been significantly transmitted in any schools across the state, Ortega deferred to the Department of Hea lth. He said that department works more closely with schools on tracking the transmission of COV ID -19, case investigation and contact tracing.
“Our role is primarily ensuring we have clarification over mitigation effor ts,” he said.
Other bits of information to come out of the press conference included:
• Students will not be required to wear face masks while eating.
• About half of schools across the state have been fully virtual for at least part of the school year.
• The federal government has not waived requirements for statewide standardized testing. That means that, at this point, students are still scheduled to take Pennsylvania System of School A ssessment exams and Keystone E xams in the spring. Ortega said the testing window for the exams will be expanded.