D.C. Public Schools released much-awaited health and safety plans on Wednesday that describe how it will fully reopen buildings.

Students in the 50,000-student school system are expected to return to campuses on August 30, most for the first time in more than a year. But the surging Delta variant, a highly contagious strain of the coronavirus that is driving most new infections across the country, has exacerbated worries among parents.

City officials say they are confident schools can safely reopen with proper mitigation measures.

“Kids have got to get back to school,” Mayor Muriel Bowser said. “We have to be committed as a community that returning to school is our number one priority.”

During a press conference, D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Lewis Ferebee outlined protocols the school system will follow during the 2021-2022 academic year. They include:

• Masking: Every person will be required to wear masks inside school buildings, regardless of vaccination status. Masks will also be required outside during recess. Masks may be removed for eating, drinking and, for pre-K students, during naptime.

• Vaccines: Teachers and other staff will be required to get vaccinated against COVID-19, or submit to weekly testing. The vaccine is not required for students.

• Coronavirus testing: Each week, 10% of students will be randomly tested for COVID-19. Families may fill out a form to opt out of testing. Testing will also be available to anyone showing COVID-19 symptoms.

• Lunchtime measures: Cafeterias will be set up for social distancing and seats will be assigned for students in grades 1 to 12. Children in preschool and kindergarten will eat inside classrooms.

• Social distancing: The school system is encouraging — but not requiring — six feet of physical distancing between adults and children. Outside learning is also encouraged.

• Quarantine procedures: Anyone in a school building who tests positive for COVID-19 will be required to isolate for at least 10 days. Unvaccinated students or staff who are close contacts of someone who tests positive will be required to quarantine for at least seven days. Vaccinated students and staff who are close contacts of someone who tests positive will not be required to quarantine if they are not showing symptoms. A close contact is someone who comes within 6 feet of another person for 15 minutes or more, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

• Transitioning to distance learning: Students who must quarantine at home will be able to learn virtually, either independently or by watching live streams of class lessons. Ferebee said the type of virtual instruction will depend on the number of students or staff who need to quarantine.

Charter schools, which educate about half of the city’s public school students, have devised their own plans for reopening based on guidance from D.C. Health officials.

Some of those plans differ from procedures the public school system will follow. For example, KIPP DC, which operates eight campuses, is conducting weekly coronavirus testing of nearly all students and staff.

City officials acknowledged coronavirus cases in schools will rise as more students return to classrooms. But they said that alone should not deter families from sending students into buildings.

Deputy Mayor for Education Paul Kihn pointed to charter schools that have already started the year. He said safety measures have allowed campuses to continue operating, even as cases are identified inside buildings.

“Those safety protocols are being followed and they are working,” he said. “There are students on quarantine. There are teachers on quarantine. And the school days continue.”

Some parents are still not convinced, especially as fears over the Delta variant grow.

In the District, children 5 to 14 years old account for 10% of new coronavirus cases, D.C. Department of Health Director LaQuandra Nesbitt said last week.

More children are likely becoming infected with COVID-19 because Delta is far more transmissible than the original strain of the virus, but it is not yet clear if the variant is more harmful to young people.

The uncertainty has prompted some parents and educators to call for a distance learning option in the fall for families that want it. They argue it is especially important for children under 12, who are not yet eligible for a coronavirus vaccine.

The District has taken a strict position on virtual instruction, allowing only students with documented medical reasons to continue learning from home.

Nearly 100 students in the school system have been authorized to learn virtually because of medical concerns. Ferebee said the school system does not plan to expand distance learning to more families.

Some parents say online instruction should be available to students who do not qualify for medical reasons.

Becky Reina, a parent with two children at an elementary school in Northwest, said she will not send her children back to their school building when school starts later this month.

“My family has a lot of advantages and we’re just going to see what happens,” said Reina, who is pushing the city to provide a virtual option. “We are prepared to deal with the consequences, whatever they are.”

Previously:
D.C. Public Schools Will Require Masks For Students And Staff When Campuses Reopen