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Dear Colleagues:
This afternoon, I will appear with Gov. Andy Beshear, Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman and Kentucky Board of Education (KBE) Chair Lu Young at a press conference to discuss school operations and COVID-19 as we move toward the restart of full scale school operations for this fall.
I understand that such events cause a great deal of speculation about what might be said and if any sort of “mandates” or requirements are going to be announced.
Let me be clear – at this time I am not aware of any orders or mandates that will be handed down from the governor and (similarly) there are no plans for regulations or directives coming from the KBE or from Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) relating to COVID-19 mitigation requirements for the coming school year.
While we all have seen conditions change over the course of our management of this pandemic – and there may need to be such orders in the future – presently decisions on how your schools will operate this fall remain local decisions. The only exception is masking on school buses, which is required under a Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC) order.
With that said, I also wish to be abundantly clear that in the strongest possible terms I recommend all public and private schools in the Commonwealth of Kentucky follow the latest CDC recommendations and guidance from the Kentucky Department for Public Health (DPH) for COVID-19 prevention in schools. The guidance includes the following elements:
- Prioritize in-person learning.
- Encourage and promote vaccination.
- Use layered prevention strategies.
- Masks should be worn by all people age 2 and older who are not vaccinated when physical distrancing cannot be maintained. Presently this would include everyone between the ages of 2 and 12.
- Maintain at least 3 feet of physical distance between students in indoor spaces.
- Continue screening, testing, handwashing, respiratory etiquette, staying at home when sick and getting tested, contact tracing in combination with quarantine and isolation, and cleaning and disinfection efforts.
- Students and staff staying at home when they have signs of infectious illness and referral to their health care provider for testing and care.
- Local monitoring of community transmission, vaccination coverage, screening testing, and outbreak occurrence to guide decisions on prevention strategies.
In addition to this guidance from the CDC and DPH, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) also issued guidance that goes even further on masking, recommending that all persons older than 2 years and all school staff should wear masks at school because a significant portion of the school population is not eligible for vaccination and there are no systems to track who is vaccinated and who is not. Similarly, the DPH guidance states that schools should “consider universal use of masks for all persons” based on several community factors.
I understand that some would like to believe COVID-19 is no longer a threat. While these perspectives may be loud, they will have no impact on my recommendation to you on following the CDC and DPH guidance. My main priority has been and continues to be providing you the information and resources you need to keep your students, staff and community safe.
I understand that we are all weary of COVID-19 mitigation efforts, and that we have enjoyed some semblance of normalcy these past few weeks of summer. But we cannot ignore that conditions have shifted again and for the worse. With vaccinations among adults stalling, the delta variant is a much more transmissible version of the COVID-19 virus and transmission levels in our communities are on a troubling rise. Because of this reality, you have a responsibility to take the steps necessary to get your schools open safely for operations this fall.
The good news is that all of you know how to do just that. This past spring, using largely these same virus mitigation strategies, we were able to safely operate schools and hold in-person learning across the Commonwealth.
This is going to be hard for a while longer, but you know what you have to do to keep your schools and community safe, and I trust you will do just that.
Kind regards,
Jason E. Glass, Ed.D.
Commissioner & Chief Learner
Reminder: 15-Passenger Vans Illegal in Kentucky School Districts to transport students
The safest form of transportation to transport school children to and from school or school activities is a school bus. Per the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), students are about 70 times more likely to get to school safely when taking a school bus instead of traveling by car.
Buses are the most regulated vehicles on the road. They’re designed to be safer than passenger vehicles in preventing crashes and injuries; and in every state, stop-arm laws protect children from other motorists.
There are federal guidelines for 15-passenger vans which is set forth by NHTSA. The School Bus Safety Act prohibits a school or school system from purchasing or leasing a new 15-passenger van if it will be used significantly by or on behalf of the school or school system to transport preprimary, primary or secondary school students to or from school or related events. A school in violation of this requirement may be subject to substantial civil penalties under the School Bus Safety Act.
A school may not rent a 15-passenger van or purchase a 15-passenger van and pull out seats to make it hold fewer passengers. It must be manufactured as a nine-passenger or less vehicle.
The Kentucky Revised Statute 156.153 prohibits the use of passenger vans that transport more than 9 passengers.
The Kentucky Administrative Regulation 702 KAR 5:130 further provides guidance on the requirements for vehicles that carry nine passengers or less.
For more information, email Elisa Hanley.
FCC Funding for Wi-Fi on School Buses
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced a funding opportunity through the Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF) to cover broadband connections for off campus use by school students and staff, among others. In May the FCC expanded this funding to include Wi-Fi hotspots on school buses.
Schools may apply for funding for purchases made between July 1, 2021, and June 30, 2022. Applicants must certify the support is for eligible equipment or services for students and/or staff who would otherwise lack access to connected devices and/or broadband sufficient to engage in remote learning.
The opportunity includes a maximum of $250 per Wi-Fi hotspot and $400 per connected device. Applicants should be prepared to explain their selections, eligibility and costs, as needed.
The current application period will close at 11:59 p.m. ET on Aug. 13, 2021. There is a total of $7.17 billion in available funding under this program, which was created by the American Rescue Plan of 2021. If there are remaining funds after this round, the FCC will hold a second round during which applicants can seek funding for eligible purchases made between March 1, 2020, and June 30, 2021.
Schools must have an active FCC registration number and a SAM.gov registration account or apply for those before submitting the application. For more information, including FAQs and a link to the application portal, go to www.emergencyconnectivityfund.org.
Please consult with your district’s chief information officer or technology leaders for guidance and considerations.
Clarification on Meaningful Consultation under ARP
Pursuant to the American Rescue Plan (ARP), districts are required to conduct meaningful consultation in the development of their ARP ESSER plans. When drafting their plans, districts must include a description of how they performed meaningful consultation and how the information generated from the consultation was taken into account when developing the plan. Districts must make a good-faith effort to consult with students, families, school and district administrators, educators and their unions, civil rights organizations, and stakeholders representing the groups of children from historically disadvantaged groups.
The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) recognizes that not every district will have external advocacy organizations for each of the aforementioned groups. Districts should make an effort to ensure that they have actively sought feedback from a broad representation of community stakeholders. Districts should make it a priority to receive feedback and consult with any organization that seeks to provide input on the ARP ESSER planning process.
Additionally, districts must consult with their collective bargaining units, or in lieu of a collective bargaining unit, the professional association representing the largest share of educators in the district. Districts may include past and ongoing consultative efforts related to their COVID-19 response in their discussion, but must describe how targeted consultation was performed specifically for the purposes of ARP ESSER planning.
KDE will review all ARP ESSER plans for completion. Plans that do not sufficiently describe how they performed meaningful consultation with the aforementioned groups and took that consultation into account will be returned for revision.
For more information about meaningful consultation, email Matthew Courtney.
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