Little: Schools to open this fall, stay open

Gov. Brad Little said his administration will do everything in its power to assist local school districts to prepare for the coming school year, and that he fully expects K-12 schools to open this fall for in-person education.

“The last several months have presented extraordinary challenges for Idaho students, educators, staff and parents,” Little said in a Thursday press conference. “… These extraordinary circumstances have further reinforced the important role our schools play in supporting families, communities and our larger economy. The Idaho Constitution clearly outlines our duty to establish a thorough and uniform system of schools in Idaho. The pandemic has tested our ability to meet this obligation to Idaho’s youngest citizens.”

Little made his remarks in concert with a back-to-school initiative designed to provide resources and guidance for local districts.

“The decisions about school operations will be made locally,” he said, “but today we are making a statewide framework available to school districts to guide them in their decisions.”

The local control Little advocated follows his strategy of regionalizing management of the pandemic, as the rate of community spread differs throughout the state.

“We know that every community is unique, and that there is no one-size-fits-all approach,” said Sherri Ybarra, superintendent of Public Instruction. “Because when schools open this fall, communities will be in different stages of the pandemic. That’s why local control is so important: It’s not going to look the same in Prairie as it does in Coeur d’Alene or Nampa.”

These administration recommendations cover a wide range of day-to-day issues, from how students should ride on buses to how teachers should conduct fire drills to how food service employees manage lunch periods. Administration members emphasized these protocols are recommendations only, rather than requirements.

“Nothing in the guidelines or in the framework is mandatory,” said Debbie Critchfield of the Idaho State Board of Education. “You will not see anything that is a ‘Thou shalt.’ It is intended to support.”

The guidelines provide a series of option trees for different scenarios. For example, when a student or staff member tests positive for COVID-19, the building would likely be closed for a short period of time for disinfection and cleaning, which could run anywhere between two and five days. Depending on the severity of the infection and number of cases, school responses could be as mild as teachers reinforcing hygiene with students to expanding social distancing and limiting indoor movement.

Ybarra added this coming school year will not look the same as years past, as educating students will likely take on a variety of forms: Expect to see a mix of traditional in-class studies, split or rotating schedules, phased-in openings, and online and blended learning models.

“The key to success this fall,” Ybarra said, “will be that parents and students have choices and options for their learning, based on what’s best for their situation and in their communities, because every single community in Idaho will look different.”

Little emphasized that he does not want to see widespread long-term closures of schools once fall arrives.

“In the fall, I expect Idaho schools to safely re-open for in-person education,” he said. “Despite the incredible advances in digital learning, you can never replace the impact of in-person interaction with a professional, dedicated teacher.”

He said the expectation is that schools will not be closed for extended periods of time.

Before COVID-19, too many Idaho students faced a significant achievement gap, an ongoing risk to their mental and social well-being, Little said.

“The pandemic has exacerbated this gap, imposes an ongoing disruption to this state’s momentum on many different fronts, from early literacy to college and career readiness, and students’ overall well-being,” he said. “It’s imperative students return to their classrooms and interact directly with their teachers and classmates at the end of the summer.”

Little also said Idaho had not met the health and safety standards to exit Stage Four of his Rebound Idaho plan. He said in order for this to work, Idahoans have to take the virus that has killed 555,000 people since the pandemic began in December more seriously.

“We want our students back in school at the end of the summer,” he urged. “We want our economy to rebound as quickly as possible. Our personal actions are the single-most important thing we can do to make this happen.”