Pennsylvania offers new guidance to school districts for reopening schools

Pennsylvania school districts are being urged to consider new state recommendations when adopting one of three instructional models for the upcoming school year: the in-person, remote or hybrid instruction model.

Officials said at a press conference that superintendents should stay apprised of the percentage of COVID-19 tests that come back positive in their counties over the most recent seven-day period, and the number of positive tests per 100,000 county residents (the incidence rate) over that same period.

Those metrics show the level of community transmission of coronavirus in a county, according to state Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine.

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According to Secretary of Education Pedro Rivera this is the description of the three instructional models for the upcoming school year:

A traditional, in-person model with schools open every day and remote learning available for at-risk students or staff, a hybrid “blended learning” model that incorporates more remote learning to reduce the number of students in school buildings to accommodate social distancing and a full remote learning model in which all students would be engaged in learning remotely.

The departments designated three different thresholds for community spread of COVID-19 to determine which educational model school districts should use:

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Schools in a county with a low level of community transmission over the last seven days (less than 10 new positive COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents, and less than 5% of COVID-19 tests coming back positive) should have “full, in-person” instruction or use a blended learning model.

Schools in a county with a moderate level of transmission over the last seven days (between 10 and 99 new cases per 100,000 residents, or less than 10% of all new tests coming back positive) should follow a blended learning model or a full-remote learning model.

Schools in a county with a substantial level of transmission over the last seven days (100 or more new cases per 100,000 residents, or 10% or more of new tests coming back positive) should use the full-remote learning model.

The guidance is not a mandate, but designed to help school districts make adjustments throughout the year based on the state of the COVID-19 pandemic, state officials said.