Pennsylvania Schools To Get More State Virus Analysis To Guide Reopening
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Under pressure to give schools more health guidance about how to safely reopen, Gov. Tom Wolf's administration said Monday that it will provide recommendations to school districts based on the local rate of transmission of the coronavirus. The Department of Health plans to provide an analysis showing the seven-day rate of transmission in each county and group those rates into three categories: low, moderate and substantial.
The department's recommendation on how to reopen would be based on those categories. So, for areas with a low transmission rate, districts could adopt a partly remote or a full in-person instruction model. For areas with a moderate transmission rate, districts could adopt a partly remote or fully remote instruction model.
For areas with a substantial transmission rate, the department would recommend a fully remote instruction model.
Most of Pennsylvania's 500 school districts will be in the moderate category.
While a county's transmission rate and corresponding category could change week by week, Wolf's administration said schools should consider changing their instructional models only after looking at the past two weeks of transmission.
It also said a significant or widespread outbreak may require moving to a more remote-based model more quickly.
The Wolf administration unveiled the information after the state's school superintendents' organization challenged it to provide more detailed public health guidance.
School boards across the state have been caught between parents worried about sending children back and threatening to take their children to cyberschools and parents demanding that schools reopen for five-day weeks of in-person instruction.
In a statement, the Pennsylvania School Boards Association called the guidance "warranted" and said it will help school leaders make informed decisions. But it criticized the timing, with some districts opening within two weeks after weeks or months of planning.
"The timing of its release is at a point where school leaders are far along the path of planning for school reopening," the organization said.
District leaders can assess new information, but it may be challenging to incorporate this latest set of guidance into their reopening plans at this stage, it said.
Copyright 2020 The Associated Press.
