Short delay in Fayette schools’ in-person January start proposed as COVID-19 assessed

Barring a COVID surge-induced postponement, Fayette Public Schools would return to in-person classes on Jan. 7 three days later than planned, under a recommendation the board will discuss Monday.

Delaying the return of school from Jan. 4 to Jan. 7 will ensure that students and staff transition successfully to in-person instruction, a school board document said.

The document said the delayed start would permit school staff to finalize logistics to safely return.

In addition, the district will have more time to evaluate the potential impact of the holiday season on the community spread of COVID-19. The Jan. 4th to 6th instructional days will be added at the end of the calendar, making the last student instructional day on May 18, a document attached to the Monday meeting agenda said.

Since March, the district has not offered full in-person classes, although limited two-hour classes were offered from October until a few weeks ago when they were stopped as a result of a rise in coronavirus cases. The two-hour classes were allowed by the state even if the county’s incidence rate was so high it was classified as critical or red.

Gov. Andy Beshear last month, by executive order, shut down all Kentucky K-12 schools to combat an escalation in cases.

There were 3,601 new cases Wednesday in Kentucky and a record 37 deaths, according to state data. That followed 4,151 new cases and 35 deaths Tuesday.

Fayette County Public Schools Board Chairwoman Stephanie Spires said earlier this week that less than 50 students were receiving in-person services because of their special education plans.

A handful of students trying to attain career and technical certificates were also attending in-person, she said.

About 3,000 of the district’s 41,359 students were getting targeted in-person instruction before the COVID-19 increase halted the effort. The school board wants to restart the limited face-to-face instruction as soon as possible, she said.

In November, the Fayette County Board of Education approved the 2021-22 instructional calendar for Fayette County Public Schools. The first day of classes is set for Wednesday, Aug. 11, and the last day for students will be Wednesday, May 25 — pending weather make-up days. Winter break will run from Dec. 20 through Jan. 3, and Spring Break is slated for March 28 through April 1.

This story was originally published December 3, 2020 at 3:39 PM.