Determining whether it’s safe to reopen schools for in-person classes continues to be a local decision for now. While other places are only letting schools open if the rate of positive COVID-19 tests is below a certain level, State Health Commissioner Dr. Kris Box says Indiana isn’t doing that yet.
“We have not set on a particular metric for the schools, that you have to be at this in your county in order to go back to school, but certainly, when we start to climb up around that 10-to-15-percent positivity rate, especially if that’s persistent or showing signs of continuing to rise, is when we’re starting to definitely look at the things that we can do to impact that.”
During Wednesday’s COVID-19 press conference, Box also discussed some of the potential challenges that may arise if a teacher were to test positive. “If she is a kindergarten teacher that has been in close contact with all her little ones and wiping their snotty noses and had more interaction than we would probably like to see from a social distancing standpoint, we may have to quarantine the whole classroom of children,” Box said. “If she’s been working with junior high and high school students and has been maintaining social distancing and wearing her mask, then we would recommend that students observe for any signs or symptoms and test students as indicated and have them continue to go to school.”
Box said she’s seen lots of “amazing” plans on how schools will combine virtual options with the opportunity for face-to-face instruction. “The schools are excited about that, and we know that there are some parents that under no circumstances will send their kids back to school, and so it’s important to have an option for them. But it’s also important to have a good option for students to be able to get back face-to-face, if that’s what the families deem is best for their children.”
Governor Eric Holcomb said the goal is to go back to in-person classes only when and where it’s safe, and stressed that he won’t withhold state funding from schools that choose to stick with virtual learning. “I did just the opposite,” Holcomb said. “We’ve worked our tails off around here to make sure that schools were fully funded, including the increases over the next year and then making sure schools know that there are multiple streams of funding, be it through the CARES Act, be it through us via the CARES Act, be it through FEMA, et cetera.”
But Holcomb said a decision on whether to hold schools harmless from potential enrollment drops by funding them based on last year’s count won’t come until later in the fall.
