SEATTLE — Washington Gov. Jay Inslee is loosening school reopening guidelines amid a resurging coronavirus pandemic and pleading with reluctant teachers to return to the classroom, particularly those tasked with educating the youngest and neediest students.
Inslee, a Democrat, on Wednesday unveiled the state’s latest reopening standards, which urge schools to begin phasing in in-person learning no matter what the community COVID-19 infection rates are, and to resist reverting back to remote learning should transmissions further increase.
That’s a stark departure for the Democratic administration, which has until now taken a more cautious approach.
The ultimate decision on how and when to reopen schools is up to individual districts.
Washington state saw the nation’s first confirmed virus case in late January. The governor on April 6 issued an emergency order to keep schools across the state closed through the end of the school year, and in the fall, pushed most schools to remain online-only.
The new metrics say communities with the highest COVID-19 activity, where test positivity exceeds 10 percent, should phase in in-person instruction by limiting learning groups to 15 students. Students in pre-Kindergarten through 3rd grade, and students in any grade who may struggle with disabilities, homelessness or other socioeconomic disadvantages should be prioritized before adding 4th and 5th graders. No in-person extra-curricular activities are recommended.
Those in moderate-risk areas, where the test positivity rate is between 5 percent and 10 percent, should prioritize both elementary and middle schoolers, and allow extra-curriculars that meet safety standards.
And where positive testing rates are below 5 percent, the governor suggests high schoolers may return too.
