DOE announces extracurricular, co-curricular activities can start Aug. 19

The Hawaii State Department of Education sent a news release on Friday afternoon announcing that “extracurricular and co-curricular activities are scheduled to begin in person on Aug. 19.”

The announcement came one day after a meeting of the Hawaii High School Athletic Association start date committee, after which HHSAA Executive Director Chris Chun said that the start dates for fall sports were tentatively pushed back “2-4 weeks.”

Chun told The Maui News in May that the tentative start date for football practice was Aug. 17. The HHSAA start date committee meets again next Thursday and now has new directive from the HIDOE.

The press release was not specific, but it is now apparent that conditioning for football and other falls sports can possibly start Aug. 19, according to the DOE.

“All programming will be required to adhere to state and county declarations and follow health and safety protocols in the Department’s Return to Learn plan,” the release said. “The date is subject to change as HIDOE continues to monitor the situation and guidance issued by health and government officials.”

Hawaii public schools are scheduled to begin the fall semester on Aug. 4 with in-person instruction amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“The start date aligns with the Department’s directive to schools to focus the first two weeks of the new school year on three priorities: assessing student learning needs; testing and adjusting school safety protocols; and conducting employee training and preparing for classroom and virtual instruction,” the release said.

Said state Superintendent Dr. Christina Kishimoto: “We recognize the importance of extracurricular activities when it comes to the overall educational experience of our students. Given the current global health crisis, we are taking steps to ensure the safety of our students and staff while trying to balance a whole-child approach to learning that these programs provide. We will continue to work closely with medical and health officials to evaluate our processes and procedures as this pandemic evolves.”

Extracurricular and co-curricular activities include, but are not limited to, athletics, band, academic competitions and clubs. Specific examples include:

¯ Fall sports: football, cheerleading, cross country, air rifle, girls volleyball, and bowling

¯ Speech and debate team in-person meetings

¯ Marching band practice ¯ Drama club rehearsals

¯ Staff professional development