Kentucky governor says it’s time for students to return to classrooms

(The Center Square) Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear called on school districts to begin offering or expanding in-class instruction in the coming days.

This week, Beshear signed an executive order calling for schools, even private ones, to resume some sort of classroom instruction by Monday. That comes as the state has made administering the COVID-19 vaccine to teachers a priority.

For those districts and schools that have not yet completed the second round of vaccinations, Beshear’s order recommends they get back to classroom learning within seven days of those shots.

“What we foresaw is that the safest way to expand in-person opportunities is to vaccinate all of our school personnel,” Beshear said. “Since then, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and others have moved that way and other states have followed our lead.”

Beshear’s order still calls for districts to offer some type of remote learning option through the end of the school year.

Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman said the Kentucky Department of Education has created a 136-page manual to help schools transition to in-school learning.

Several school districts across the state have already begun the transition. In some districts, like Shelby County Public Schools, younger elementary school students have returned to class four days a week while older middle and high schoolers attend school in a hybrid format.

Fayette County Public Schools announced Tuesday that students in grades 3-5 will resume in-class instruction March 3. The district that covers Lexington will begin transitioning middle and high school students into the classrooms on March 8.

In a memo that went to Fayette County families, Acting Superintendent Marlene Helm said the district has issues with having enough bus drivers to transport middle and high school students.

“Teachers and leaders from those programs are making individual contacts with families who have chosen in-person learning for their students to determine transportation needs and find solutions,” she said.

The Jefferson County Board of Education is expected to vote on a reopening plan Thursday. However, the Louisville Courier Journal reported Wednesday that board members who oversee the state’s largest district are still divided over the plan, even as lawmakers and parents have called on the schools to reopen.

“We have several details to iron out in order to reassure our staff, parents and students that we can do the best job possible,” Board Member Joe Marshall told the C-J.

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