The Oregon Health Authority and the Oregon Department of Education released an update to the Ready Schools, Safe Learners guidance. Right now, about 175,000 students in Oregon are attending school in person. Governor Kate Brown issued an executive order requiring all Oregon public schools to offer universal access to hybrid or full in-person instruction by the weeks of March 29 for grades K-5, and April 19 for grades 6-12. What does this all mean? Some key changes from the guidance:
- There’s a simplified table showing how schools will use county case rates, case counts and test positive rates to decide when to offer on-site or hybrid learning and when they might limit instruction to distance learning only.
- The updated guidance offers more detail about how schools provide Comprehensive Distance Learning to families that request it .
- There are some changes to the size and design of cohorts – those are the stable peer groups that students are part of during the school day .
- While elementary school students will continue to be checked for symptoms of or exposure to people with COVID-19 as they enter school, the new guidance allows middle and high school students to screen themselves at home.
