State releases guidance for schools during COVID-19

The Department of Public Instruction issued guidance Monday for district and school leaders as they plan to return to school this fall during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Agency staff worked with the Department of Health Services and education stakeholders throughout the state to develop the guidance, which they stressed is a starting point and subject to change.

State Superintendent Carolyn Stanford Taylor said she expects schools to reopen this fall, but that “they will undoubtedly look different,” with new cleaning and disinfection procedures and changes in how educators deliver instruction.

“There will be students who are not able to return to school due to health concerns and students and staff who may be quarantined due to exposure,” she wrote in an introduction to the guidance. “This means every school district will need to plan for both school operations on campus and remote learning.”

Some of the suggestions relate to school scheduling, like having four-day weeks allowing for a day of deep cleaning or having students report to school for two days on alternating schedules, with virtual instruction options on the days they’re not in the classroom.

The number of confirmed cases reached 25,068 in Wisconsin on Monday, with 249 new cases reported Monday. There was one additional death, bringing the total to 745 in the state. The percent of positive cases among the 6,549 new cases reported was 3.8 percent.

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