BOISE, Idaho — In just about six weeks, a new school year should be underway, with our kids, presumably, back in class.
But with COVID-19 cases spiking in Idaho - how is that going to be safely possible?
President Trump has an opinion on it.
On Monday he tweeted -- "SCHOOLS MUST OPEN IN THE FALL."
And then today he followed up with --
"May cut off funding if not open."
On Thursday, we'll hear from Gov. Brad Little about reopening schools.
We will carry the governor's press conference live at noon on Channel 7 and KTVB.COM.
He's expected to suggest schools reopen with certain guidelines. Not mandates.
Keep in mind, when it comes to education in Idaho, most decisions are made from the bottom-up, rather than top-down.
Meaning, Idaho prides itself on local control over education.
Still, those guidelines have to come from somewhere and that somewhere is the Idaho State Board of Education.
Kim Fields talked with the board's president, Debbie Critchfield on Wednesday about what those guidelines might look like.
"Debbie, honestly, I think we're asking ourselves, and you've got to be asking yourself, how can we even make this happen? How can kids go to school and safely social distance and not have the potential of becoming infected from one another?" asked Kim Fields.
"Well, I think that question," Critchfield said. "There's really two parts to it. One is, I do believe our schools can safely get kids back into a classroom setting. As far as the transmission and infection, I'll leave that up to the science, but schools have been thinking through these types of issues. We know that we don't have every answer out there. Certainly this framework that we're putting out there isn't exhaustive and it's not a legal opinion for that matter. But what it does is help navigate some of these issues. And we're hearing from around the state, families want to get back, teachers want to get back with students. And most of the operational aspects of day-to-day school life can be satisfied in a way that does protect the safety of students and staff."
"So what does happen, Debbie, when a student tests positive, or a teacher or a janitor or a bus driver? Does it look like school would then be canceled for 14 days? What are your guidelines suggesting when it comes to that?" asked Kim Fields.
"Well, we're certainly not recommending any type of blanket decision making where you've got a second grade teacher in one of your schools in one part of your district, therefore that means all, every student and every employee is out for the next two weeks," Critchfield said. "Working with central and local health districts, we know that these decisions need to be made situational, that appropriate decisions are made for that particular case."
"Okay, so you guys can't say right now because I think that's a burning question with a lot of parents have - what happens if I send my kid back and someone tests positive? What happens then?" asked Kim Fields.
"The 'what's next?' There's some direction in the framework that the governor is going to talk about and it gives categories and directions of 'if this, then that.'"
"So I'm trying to think of a typical classroom, 25 to 30 children. So how do we socially distance within the classroom? Are plans in place for that, I would imagine?" asked Kim Fields.
"Spreading out desks in a room, if you've got a smaller classroom, moving it to a larger space, limiting the number of students who go to recess at the same time or go to lunch," Critchfield said. "One of the things that you are not going to see in there is any mandate or directive on the wearing of masks. We've been asked that a lot will our students, our faculty, will they be forced or required to wear masks? You will not see any indication of that in the state framework. That is 100% locally decided."
"Have you gotten any push back from teachers, from districts saying, 'Hey hold the phone, I don't want to jeopardize myself, I don't want to put myself in that position?'" asked Kim Fields.
"Absolutely, I think the contract issue with employees is one of our most critical and elusive questions that's out there," Critchfield said. "Clearly more vulnerable staff are more anxious and more concerned about how the school district is going to protect them and those that they return home to. And there are some suggestions on how to do that."
"Should I expect to have my children's temperature before entering a school, or hand sanitizer or hand washing? What might that look like?" asked Kim Fields.
"I'm glad that you brought up the taking of temperatures," Critchfield said. "School districts have a variety of opinions on how and if they want to do that and frankly a lot of that has to do with the supply of thermometers and the amount of time. It would be very time intensive to be able to do that. The critical partner in all of this, schools they can do a lot, but they cannot do everything. Parents, guardians, grandparents, they are going to be a priority partner in all of this. And the recommendation is for parents to take their temperatures prior to getting on the bus or leaving home and if it's 100.1, you stay home. You leave your child home until that temperature goes down."
"What about transportation? What is that going to look like, again social distancing on busses, Debbie?" asked Kim Fields.
“If physical distancing was a requirement, which it is not, again we're leaving that to districts to figure out, they would be running their bus routes eight hours a day," Critchfield said. "And so I think that is going to be one of those areas where you, the districts are going to do their due diligence, they're going to have a good faith effort and they're going to be very reasonable about how they get students to school."
"So bottom line, it sounds like, Debbie, for parents just like me, we have a lot of burning questions still, but just hold tight and wait for guidance from your local school district?" asked Kim Fields.
"The most reliable source of what school's going to look like in your district is coming right from your own school," Critchfield said. "I think a word for all of us, we're all going to need to be a little patient with each other. We're building this as we go and there are some things that we're not going to get right and other things that we're going to do very well but finding that place in the middle, to just have some patience I think is going to pay off for all of us."
Another guideline from the board, districts should make online learning available to families who want to keep their kids home.
And a lot of people have asked - could a school district get sued if a student or staff comes down with COVID-19?
Critchfield says that's a priority issue for districts and one that the governor and Legislature are having conversations about. And something we hope to have some sort of answer to Thursday.
Facts not fear: More on coronavirus
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