On June 25, 2020, Lawrence’s former Superintendent/now State Commissioner, Jeff Riley and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) released their “Initial Fall School Reopening Guidance” documents.
In this 28 page document, DESE provides districts with initial guidance on reopening schools for the fall with the goals of “the safe return of as many students as possible to in-person school settings, to maximize learning and address students’ holistic needs.”
The specifics of health and safety requirements for in-person learning include:
- Masks/face coverings including when to take breaks
- Masks breaks
- Physical Distancing – 3-6ft between students
- School desks should all face the same direction
- Possibility of repurposing of other spaces for classes
- Handwashing and hand sanitizing
- PPE supplies
- Cleaning protocols
- and more
“Each district and school will need to plan for three possibilities on the continuum of reopening:
- in-person learning with new safety requirements;
- a hybrid of in-person and remote learning; and
- remote learning.
In addition, all districts/schools will also need a focused plan for serving special student populations across each of these models.”
