State asks K-12 schools to plan for return to full-time, in-person instruction next fall
The Washington State Department of Health is asking public and private K-12 schools in the state to plan for a full-time return to in-person learning for the next school year, public health officials said during a COVID-19 briefing on Wednesday, May 12.
But state health officials said that mandatory vaccination for eligible returning students won’t be required at this time.
Remote learning for the next school year will be available to families that need it, said Lacy Fehrenbach, deputy secretary for COVID-19 response for the state Department of Health.
Hours after the state’s briefing, Bellingham Public Schools families learned what they can expect for the fall.
“My belief right now is that we will be back full time next year,” Superintendent Greg Baker said during an online meeting of the district’s School Board on Wednesday night.
The COVID-19 health and safety guidance for the 2021-2022 school year, which also covers summer school, was released Thursday morning.
Fehrenbach said the state was releasing the guidance far in advance to help schools and families prepare for the next school year.
Physical distance will be recommended and schools will be asked to come up with two plans — one that provides for a distance of 3 feet in classrooms and 6 feet elsewhere to the greatest extent possible and a plan that doesn’t have physical distancing requirements.
“This is partly because we are pretty far away from the (next) school year in terms of pandemic time,” Fehrenbach said.
She said the state will keep schools posted over the summer as officials monitor the science, the course of COVID-19 and vaccination rates in Washington.
Other school health and safety measures will include universal and correct use of face coverings, hand washing, cleaning, contact tracing, infection control plans and ventilation.
And while COVID-19 vaccination and testing “are additional layers of prevention that we recommend in schools,” they will not be required for the next school year, she said.
“These measures do greatly help reduce the risk of transmission in schools and in the broader community,” Fehrenbach said.
The briefing occurred after the Food and Drug Administration announced Monday that it expanded emergency authorization for the use of the Pfizer vaccine in adolescents 12 through 15 years old.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunizations Practices met to consider the authorization as well as the Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup, to which Washington state belongs. Their OK came later on Wednesday.
Fehrenbach said the state would release its guidance for schools after those two groups meet.
“Schools play such a key role in child and family well-being. They are foundational to child growth, development, learning and health,” she said. “We’ve learned over the past year that schools are very good at implementing these health and safety measures, which limit transmission and protect the students, staff and their families.”
With the Pfizer vaccine getting the nod from regulators, an estimated 378,000 children 12 to 15 years of age in Washington are eligible for vaccination against COVID-19, according to state officials.
In Whatcom County, about 10,383 adolescents are now eligible, according to the county health department.
“We strongly encourage families to get their children vaccinated for COVID-19 as soon as they become eligible, ”Fehrenbach said. “Every single person who gets vaccinated is a step forward on our journey to recovery from this pandemic and gets us closer to a more normal school year next year.”
—Robert Mittendorf (rmittendorf@bhamherald.com) contributed to this story.
This story was originally published May 12, 2021 at 11:27 AM with the headline "State asks K-12 schools to plan for return to full-time, in-person instruction next fall."
