All sectors of education—traditional public, public charter, and nonpublic—and state government have a responsibility to work together to address and resolve pupil transportation barriers. School reopening depends on manageable and safe routines for getting students there in the first place. If you haven't already, use the days ahead to survey parents and families about their plans to utilize school district transportation services. Based on these data, work collaboratively with your local charter and nonpublic school leaders to accommodate appropriate, cost-feasible alternatives. Finally, it is undeniable that providing safe transportation for students will be resource intensive. Additional state and federal funds will be necessary to address this challenge; please join me in advocating for these investments.
Local education agencies (LEAs) should be planning to offer at least some in-person education for all students. While the spring 2020 school closure was a necessary step in the face of the greatest public health crisis of the past century, modeling conducted specifically for Pennsylvania's schools indicates that a combination of mitigation strategies can sharply reduce the risk of disease spread. Accordingly, I urge all LEAs to plan for at least the following:
Anticipating that COVID-19 conditions will change throughout the year, schools should contemplate some reduction in overall student presence each day. This can be accomplished through any combination of rotating or split schedules (including through use of block scheduling at the secondary level), expanding distance learning, and other appropriate measures. This principle is especially important for schools with class sizes and facilities that preclude six feet of separation among students and staff throughout the day, and most certainly in counties that are transitioning from green to yellow.
All students should wear masks during LEA-managed transportation to and from school; staff and students, and particularly older learners, should be encouraged to wear masks during the school day, especially when moving around the building or in close contact with others.
Schools should emphasize evidence-based hygiene practices and undertake regular deep cleaning and sanitation procedures in alignment with CDC and DoH recommendations and PDE's June 3 guidance.
Building on Spring 2020 Continuity of Education plans, LEAs should develop and refine contingency plans for providing remote-only instruction in the event schools close on short notice due to a local outbreak.
Schools should focus limited resources on the highest-leverage public health activities. Especially considering emerging evidence that a sizable proportion of COVID-19 infections are asymptomatic, schools may better safeguard student and public health by quickly intervening with students who have COVID-19-consistent symptoms than by attempting to screen all students daily. Similarly, I believe that schools are better equipped to support local health departments and emergency coordination agencies in efficiently and sensitively implementing contact tracing as necessary than in mounting such efforts themselves.