As teachers face COVID-19 exposure, SC lawmakers weigh leave options
As some classes resume in person, and teachers across the state face students in the middle of a pandemic, lawmakers are debating what could happen if teachers are exposed to the coronavirus multiple times.
Among more than a dozen recommendations lawmakers discussed Wednesday for how schools should operate during the pandemic was one that could affect school districts’ policies on how much paid time teachers can have if they are exposed to the virus.
With policies varying from district to district, lawmakers on the House’s COVID-19 Public Education Committee recommended that the state Department of Education work with schools to create a uniform policy that “provide flexibility” to teachers that may be exposed to the virus multiple times.
Other recommendations, which the committee unanimously agreed to send to Speaker Jay Lucas, R-Darlington, on Wednesday, also covered topics such as access to broadband, funding for the spring semester and virtual schooling.
Lawmakers initially were not considering any recommendations involving teacher leave.
S.C. Rep. Terry Alexander, D-Florence, said several teachers have raised concerns about only receiving 10 days of paid leave after being exposed to or contracting the coronavirus. Federal law only requires districts to give teachers 10 paid days if they contract the virus or think they may have it.
If a teacher is exposed again and has to quarantine, the next 10 days could come out of their personal or sick days, Alexander said, adding that policies on sick leave varied from district to district.
“I don’t think that’s fair to them because we’re putting them in an environment where they can be out 15 days or 20 days depending on the severity of COVID,” Alexander said.
S.C. Rep. Raye Felder, R-York, said it would be unfair to only give teachers extra leave days if they get exposed to COVID-19.
“We have a lot of state employees who are out there with potential exposure to COVID who have showed up every day (to an environment where they could risk catching the virus),” Felder said. “I would be uncomfortable singling out one group of employees to extend benefits.”
S.C. Rep. Wendy Brawley recommended looking at solutions that could give all essential employees extra leave days if they are exposed to COVID-19. Doing so could protect the state from lawsuits stemming from accusations of unequal treatment of employees, the Richland Democrat added.
In the end, lawmakers agreed to recommend that the state Department of Education and school districts should look at ways to “provide flexibility” when it comes to faculty and staff that have to take leave and come up with a unified policy to eliminate disparities from district to district.
Lawmakers also discussed school absence policies and how officials should work to maintain contact with students participating in virtual classes.
During the spring semester, school officials lost contact with thousands of students, who completed little or no school work. On July 22, lawmakers asked the Department of Social Services to track down the remaining 3,000 or so students, and as of Aug. 30, the department had located all but about 500 of them.
Felder stressed the importance of ensuring that students are participating in school this fall.
“If we haven’t heard from that child for three days with no contact, then immediately we need to make an effort to reengage that student and that family in learning, because once they’re off the grid, if you will, for a week or more, it’s more difficult to reengage them,” Felder said. “We can’t allow that to happen again.”
Lawmakers ultimately recommended that the Department of Education should create a system for schools to report when a student has three consecutive unexcused absences or five non-consecutive unexcused absences in one semester. They also recommended that the department create a protocol to reconnect with those students.
Another recommendation also pushed schools with virtual classes to require teachers to have at least one visual meeting per semester with each student and a guardian. During the meeting, the teachers should discuss the student’s progress and get feedback on issues with the virtual classroom.
Other recommendations from the committee include:
▪ Expanding financial qualifications for which students receive devices to facilitate virtual learning.
▪ Ensuring there is funding available for the spring semester if schools have to continue to take COVID-19 precautions.
▪ Requiring schools to provide a way for students to reach out individually to teachers and staff if they have an issue they do not want to discuss in front of the entire class.
▪ Renewing initiatives that allow retired teachers to return to the classroom and waiving salary caps.
▪ Requiring the Department of Education to keep the state Legislature informed about how students are performing.
▪ Identifying schools that saw success during virtual learning and distributing information about their practices to other schools.
▪ Reallocating funds to reimburse schools who held virtual learning camps in the summer and to provide additional support this semester to students in kindergarten through eighth grade who are struggling with literacy and math.
▪ Encouraging districts to continue focusing on the arts and humanities.
▪ Asking districts to continue providing meals to virtual-only students who qualify for free or reduced lunch.
▪ Recommending the Legislature consider relaxing laws so schools can hire other qualified healthcare professionals if they cannot find and hire a registered nurse.
▪ Instructing the Commission on Higher Education to assist students who have not been able to take the ACT or the SAT in getting state funded scholarships.
This story was originally published September 2, 2020 at 3:15 PM.
