(Update: Adding superintendent of Redmond schools, statements from the teachers union)
Wants state agencies to work to bring children back to school by February 15
SALEM, Oregon. (KTVZ) – In order to return as many Oregon students to the classroom as safely as possible for the new year, Governor Kate Brown on Wednesday directed the Oregon Department of Education and the Oregon Health Authority to implement various policy initiatives, with the aim of putting more school districts on the path to return students to face-to-face education, especially primary school students, by February 15.
The governor noted in a letter to the agencies that state and federal resources dedicated to the reopening of schools put this goal within reach of school districts, if communities continue to work together to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the coming weeks.
About $ 109 million in funds under the CARES Act were distributed to public schools in 2020. The governor also devoted $ 28 million to technology and Internet assistance for students and schools.
Both the Legislature and Congress dedicated new resources to the safe reopening of schools in 2021, including an additional $ 50 million approved during Monday’s special session to support schools in the transition to face-to-face education.
In addition, the Legislature also passed legislation during the special session, providing what the governor called “reasonable liability protections for public and private schools during the remainder of the COVID-19 emergency”.
“As 2021 approaches and we look at the remaining school year just over the horizon, it is clear that the greatest gift we can give Oregon children this holiday season is to redouble our efforts to act responsibly and reduce the spread of COVID -19 in our communities, “Brown said.” Our students’ learning, resilience and future well-being depend on us all. ”
“Each and every citizen of Oregon must do their part now to be disciplined and vigilant, to distance themselves socially, to wear facial covers, to avoid large meetings and to follow other necessary public health requirements.
“The alternative is for Oregon residents to remain at risk of contracting the disease for much longer, and perhaps 90% of Oregon students remain on the promising path of spending the rest of the school year blocked by this virus in their classrooms. youth class and activities where they learn, grow and find better connection, security and support. ”
In her letter to ODE and OHA, the governor instructed the agencies to continue to partner with school districts, educators and communities in decision-making processes based on sound science and public health and safety, with the aim of preparing more Oregon schools. , especially elementary schools, to return to face-to-face education by February 15.
With educators and school staff being prioritized for COVID-19 vaccinations, the governor also directed agencies to work with schools to provide rapid on-site testing as a safeguard to quickly address symptomatic individuals and those with potential exposure to COVID-19 .
In addition, Oregon school metrics, COVID-19 outreach measures by the local community that guide when it is appropriate to open schools for personal instruction, will be advisory rather than mandatory, beginning January 1.
“Moving forward, decisions to resume face-to-face education must be made locally, district by district, school by school,” said the governor.
In addition to schools continuing to adhere to the required health and safety protocols and working in close consultation with the local public health authority to understand and consider the metrics, teachers, school staff, parents and students must be involved in this decision-making process. decision to allow schools to make the best choice for their community and their students, said the governor.
Many states, including Washington, have advisory metrics.
Brown added: “As our neighbors to the north have demonstrated, this does not mean that schools can resume face-to-face teaching without taking into account the spread of COVID-19 in the community, but instead, they should carefully consider metrics in their local context. , the needs of students and families and availability to implement health and safety protocols. As we enter a new year, we must all face the challenges that COVID-19 presents, and prioritizing our children is the most urgent. “
Finally, consistent with ongoing ODE and OHA updates Ready schools, safe students guidance, the governor instructed the agencies to revise the guidance to ensure that all necessary health and safety procedures and protocols are included, to allow students maximum access to face-to-face instruction in accordance with health and safety standards, including any updates at the Oregon school metrics, based on scientific evidence and data. In order to give school districts time to plan any changes, this review will be completed by January 19.
Any proposed updates to Oregon school metrics will be reviewed by the Governor’s Medical Advisory Panel and the Healthy Schools Reopening Council in January, Brown’s announcement concluded.
The superintendent of the Redmond schools, Charan Cline, provided this statement about the governor’s movements:
“The Redmond School District is looking forward to having children back to school as soon as it is safe to do so, and we know that studies show that transmission of COVID-19 is rare in schools. With Governor Brown’s review of the metrics of public health for advisory rather than mandatory, we now have the ability to start a path to reopen our schools.
“We chose to pause Limited Personal Instruction earlier this month out of caution, while we expected transmission numbers to decrease. We expect Deschutes County numbers to continue to decline and we will work with the local health department as well as our team, to ensure that our students and staff can safely re-enter classrooms in the early months of 2021, “said Cline.
The Oregon Education Association issued this press release, criticizing the latest moves:
OAS: Governor Brown’s abrupt decision will create uncertainty at a time when clarity has never been more crucial
PORTLAND, OR – Today, after Governor Kate Brown’s announcement that she would no longer apply Oregon public health measures to reopen safe schools, Oregon Education Association President John Larson released the following statement:
“Nobody wants to have Oregon students back safely in our public schools more than educators, but Governor Brown’s decision today will only result in an increasingly disparate patchwork of return plans across the education system. public health – creating uncertainty at a time when clarity has never been more crucial.
“The governor said several times during this pandemic that we must keep our communities healthy and, at the same time, prioritize the need to bring our students back to schools safely – today’s decision does not achieve any of these goals.
“Instead, Governor Brown will radically and abruptly change the circumstances under which students and educators are brought back to our public schools, with no time for thoughtful contributions from Oregon education stakeholders and no real plans to implement these changes. in any kind of deliberation way.
“In addition, Governor Brown’s decision to make this announcement in the middle of the holiday season means that the nearly 70,000 educators employed at Oregon’s K-12 public schools and the families of the more than 580,000 students who study at them will now spend their holidays trying to understand what these changes mean for their lives and livelihoods.
“Rather than providing clarity to students, families and educators, Governor Brown’s decision to abruptly end the application of the state’s public health metrics will simply be another example of the ever-changing goals in our fight against COVID-19 that left so many inhabitants Oregon and Americans were frustrated and suspicious of our elected officials throughout this pandemic.
“Educators understand that our state must continue to monitor and evaluate the most reliable and most recent public health data available as we navigate our state response to this pandemic, but our elected leaders must not and cannot allow political pressures to dictate the way this data is implemented.
“Governor Brown’s announcement today will not help to return students safely to Oregon’s classrooms – it will simply continue what has been months of confusion and uncertainty for Oregon students and educators.”