237 SC schools aren’t back 5 days a week during COVID. SC senators voted to change that
Senators are pushing to have school return to in person instruction five days a week by the second full week of April.
On Wednesday, senators voted unanimously to require schools to offer in-person instruction by April 12, as most schools would have completed spring break by that date.
More than a year ago, schools were closed and went to remote learning at the beginning of the pandemic in order to slow the spread of COVID-19. This school year, 1,024 schools have returned to five days of in-person learning, 236 schools are in hybrid models, and one school is still in remote learning.
The proposal, if adopted, could quicken what state education leaders say most schools already are working toward.
The Department of Education says every district in the state, except for Hampton 1 and Hampton 2, has a plan in place to return to five-day instruction within the next two to three weeks.
“Every family must be given the option of sending their child to school five days a week face to face and the science shows that this can be done safely in every community,” said State Superintendent Molly Spearman in a statement. “I am thankful for the educators who have been making this option a reality for many throughout this school year and fully support the action taken by the Senate today to ensure every school will be fully open for in-person learning now and into the future.”
Renewed calls to fully reopen schools have come as COVID-19 vaccines have been distributed and all teachers in the state have been eligible to receive a vaccine since earlier this month.
The proposed joint resolution also calls for increasing the earnings limitation from $10,000 to $50,000 for retired teachers to come back to the classroom without it affecting their retirement payments. That change, supporters say, would help districts hire more teachers for three years as students recover from the pandemic.
“We got to find those teachers in our recent retiree work pool is one way that we can potentially expand our teacher workforce so that we can get additional individualized instruction to students,” said Patrick Kelly, the director of Governmental Affairs for the Palmetto State Teachers Association.
School districts have dealt with teachers needing to quarantine for 14 days after possible exposure to the virus, as well as teachers leaving the profession during the pandemic.
South Carolina is set to receive $2.1 billion, of which $1.9 billion goes directly to school districts, to help schools and the Department of Education recover from the pandemic and operate amid COVID-19.
The legislation also would prevent, for the next school year, teachers from teaching students in person and virtually simultaneously, dividing their attention between two sets of students.
“What we have overwhelmingly heard from our members is that it is more challenging than anything they’ve ever done. It is burning them out and most importantly, it’s not in the best interest of students,” Kelly said.
Senators had pushed to prioritize teachers for vaccinations to get schools reopened five days a week. However, that legislation stalled in the House and the governor eventually opened up vaccines for teachers.
Gov. Henry McMaster for many months has called on schools to offer five days a week of in-person instruction, saying money and personal protective equipment is available to help schools to reopen amid COVID-19.
The CDC also has recently changed guidelines saying elementary schools can have only three feet of space between students instead of the previously recommended six feet.
Middle and high schools can go to three feet of social distancing in areas of low or moderate spread. Areas with a high amount of spread should still have six feet of social distancing between students.
The proposal now goes to the House.
This story was originally published March 31, 2021 at 3:01 PM.
