SC school reopening plans don’t need to match McMaster’s recommendations, agency says

The South Carolina Department of Education will approve school reopening plans even if they differ from the guidance Gov. Henry McMaster gave at a press conference earlier this week, an official said Friday.

In order for the department to approve a school district’s coronavirus reopening plan, it must include both virtual and in-person options for students, a timeline for working toward full in-person classes and show how schools will provide high-quality education and student services whether classes are in-person, virtual or a mixture of both, department spokesman Ryan Brown said in an email.

“If a five day a week face-to-face instruction model can be safely offered, districts are encourage to do so; however, it is not required for plan approval,” Brown said.

The department’s criteria require an in-person class option, but it does not say whether in-person classes need to be offered on the first day of school or whether in-person classes can be phased in. Brown said that decision will be decided on a case-by-case basis.

McMaster’s recommendations, given at a Wednesday press conference, encouraged all schools, regardless of coronavirus spread, to offer five days per week of in-person classes starting after Labor Day. He also called on districts to allow a virtual option for students to attend school.

The governor’s guidance is not binding, and in an earlier statement a McMaster spokesman said the governor has always supported districts making their own reopening plans.

Educators and pediatricians categorically agree students learn and have better mental health when they are able to learn in a classroom. However, McMaster’s recommendations drew criticism from educators because they contradicted official guidance from a task force of state educators and the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control.

An analysis by the University of South Carolina’s Social Media Insights Lab of 915 social media posts indicated that McMaster’s guidance made social media users more nervous about returning to school than before.

Some school districts, such as Rock Hill and Jasper County, pressed on with school reopening plans that contradicted McMaster’s guidance, according to media reports. Jasper County’s plan is to reopen virtual classes only starting Aug. 17. Rock Hill’s plan is to offer a “hybrid” model where students take some in-person classes and some online classes.

In the Midlands, school districts are continuing to finalize their reopening plans. Both Richland 1 and Richland 2 had planned to offer virtual classes in case of “high” coronavirus spread — a determination made by DHEC — full in-person classes if the spread is “low” and a mixture of online and in-person if the spread is in the middle.

Richland 1 Superintendent Craig Witherspoon said in a statement the district will have more information about school reopening next week.

As of earlier this week, all of the Midlands region is considered to have “high” coronavirus spread, according to DHEC.

As of Friday, the state education department has not approved any district reopening plans.

This story was originally published July 17, 2020 at 3:43 PM.