Masks on the bus? Partitions in classrooms? School, health officials wrestle with reopening

Kentucky public health officials this week reversed their position about social distancing on school buses, after several school superintendents have said they were worried about whether they could adequately meet guidelines.

With an earlier directive that would have required school children to sit on every other seat being a chief concern of superintendents, Kentucky Department of Public Health officials now say that social-distancing does not need to be enforced on school buses if students are wearing masks, practicing proper hand hygiene and have had their temperature and health checked.

Daily, education and public health officials are moving ahead in unchartered territory as they try to come to a consensus on whether to safely open schools in the fall or offer families more of the at-home education that public schools have operated under since Kentucky schools stopped in-person learning in March.

State Sen. Max Wise, chairman of the Senate Education Committee, on Friday said he sent to Gov. Andy Beshear a letter saying he wanted to convene an advisory council for the reopening of Kentucky schools. The proposed panel would include top education and health officials and Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman. Among the issues Wise, R-Campbellsville, is recommending being discussed are sports, masks, daily health checks, sanitation, social distancing and at-risks students and staff.

At a Thursday news conference, Beshear said he wanted a regular opening for school, but schools were going to have to look different.

Beshear said schools that embrace needed changes likely could continue to operate, and those who don’t could face shutdowns.

“If schools don’t do things differently, they have an outbreak, you shut down that school,” he said.

Beshear said state officials were still working on guidance to reopen schools. It is still unclear whether the virus will be curbed or will spike this summer, he said

The issue of returning to school was the subject of meetings across the state in the past several days. In a June 2 virtual meeting with education officials, public health officials said the earlier recommendation that school buses implement social-distancing by allowing no more than one student to a seat would not be required if other preventative measures were taken.

Emily Messerli, immunization branch manager for the state department of public health, said “In the classroom, we can’t have students being on top of each other because they’re in the classroom for seven-to-eight hours. The bus ride is less time so there is less exposure.”

Messerli said families will be expected to provide a mask for students and school buses should keep masks on hand.. Guidelines regarding masks and social-distancing in the school building will still be required.

Interim Education Commissioner Kevin Brown said at that meeting that superintendents told him that families in some communities will not encourage their children to wear masks to school.

Fleming County Superintendent Brian Creasman told the Herald-Leader that “the majority of our students will not wear a mask, because the majority of their parents refuse to wear masks” and that leaders who don’t know the pulse of their community are destined to fail.

“This is only validated when you go into Walmart, Lowes, Kroger, or at a local gas station,” Creasman said, and by polls which have been reported nationally. “School and district leaders cannot send home the majority of students due to dress code issues .. not wearing a mask or a face shield. ... I support the state encouraging Kentuckians to wear masks; however, it has not been enforced, ... making it even more difficult for schools to enforce the wearing of masks (and) shields.”

“School districts across Kentucky and the nation can have the best plans for operation and teaching and learning, but if we overlook the glaring issue of support of masks and social distancing, we are doomed before we even leave the gate,” Creasman said. He said Kentucky needs every student back in school.

In discussing other safety measures, public health officials said during the virtual meeting that they would consider using plexiglass as a barrier between students in the classroom, but schools would need to clean them between classes.

Previous state guidance said that lunch would need to be eaten in the classroom. Superintendents have said they could possibly distance students more easily in the cafeteria, however state officials are likely to require cleaning after each use.

Messerli, according to a news release, said eating in the classroom allows for effective contact tracing. If students are allowed to eat in the cafeteria, they will have to have assigned seats and changes would be documented by the school.

Kentucky High School Athletic Association Commissioner Julian Tackett said at the virtual meeting that beginning June 1 and extending through June 14, high school coaches will be allowed to meet with their players in groups of no more than 10 if local school boards and local health officials agree.

Workouts for high-contact sports and practices for low-contact sports can begin between June 15 to June 28.

Low-contact sports can resume competition on June 29. That does not include school against school competition. A date had not been announced last week for when basketball and high contact sports could resume.

Meanwhile, districts including Madison County are sending surveys about COVID-19 to parents and staff to gauge the school community regarding a reopening in the fall.

“Are you worried about sending your child... back to school in the fall because of COVID-19?,” the Madison County survey said. The survey asked whether parents’ top concerns were wearing masks, being in the building with two many other people, having another outbreak of COVID-19, children riding the school bus, sitting too close to other students in the classroom or cafeteria, or participating in extracurricular activities.

In making plans for the classroom, Madison County officials are asking parents if they prefer a schedule, for example, in which some students would attend in-person classes on Monday and Tuesday and study from home on Wednesday through Friday. They asked parents if they wanted a half day schedule in which they would attend in-person classes in the morning and work from home in the afternoon.

They asked parents if they wanted to start the school year traditionally or with an online learning option.

“Like pretty much all districts across our state, Madison County is uncertain of when we will be able to start school,” district spokeswoman Erin Stewart said Friday. “We won’t make any decisions regarding a back to school date until we receive further guidance.”

Fayette County school officials have not announced a firm opening date. However, The Lexington School, a private preschool through eighth grade school, recently announced it was aiming for an Aug. 13 opening. Lexington Catholic High School officials announced June 2 that they intended to open Aug. 12 and would announce more information later in June.

This story was originally published June 5, 2020 at 5:45 PM.