NYS DOH updates school safety guidelines, superintendents say changes may be difficult

SARATOGA COUNTY, NY (WRGB) — The New York State Department of Health has released new COVID safety guidelines for schools. This comes after the CDC announced changes in mid-March - including moving desks from 6-feet apart to 3-feet apart to get more kids in the classroom.

Now, school superintendents are combing through the details, and are learning it's more complicated than it sounds.

"What I think is important, is that this is not a blanket permission slip to go from 6-feet to 3-feet, there are a number of criteria that have to be met in order to do this." Ballston Spa Superintendent Ken Slentz said.

Slentz says the guidelines are different for elementary vs. secondary level schools -- because older children are more likely to spread the virus. The guidance also recommends cohorting students into smaller groups. And community transmission rates also play a role.

"If you can't cohort your students, and can't keep them in those reasonably sized groups, you can't move from 6-feet to 3-feet, until that rate of transmission comes down." Slentz said. "Saratoga County has been labeled a high level of transmission for the last number of weeks."

He says issues include scheduling, transportation, and lunchtime. Right now, their cafeteria is being used as a larger classroom space, so students eat lunch in their classrooms. "But if you go down to 3-feet, you can no longer eat in the classroom because you have to maintain 6-feet where they're eating."

Slentz says they're already making changes to get more kids back in school under the original guidelines, like combining split elementary classrooms by using barriers, and identifying at-risk upperclassmen who are hybrid, and bringing them back into the classroom more often.

He says before any changes are made under the new guidance, the district would need to survey parents and staff for feedback.

Plus, there's only about two months of school left. He doesn't know if there's enough time, and there are other obstacles they're working around - like holidays and school breaks when COVID rates may increase, state testing, and planning for next year's budget.

"We're trying to be very thoughtful about any changes that we would introduce amongst all of these other things that are still happening as well." Slentz said. "We don't feel an urgency to make a decision anytime quickly, because of the fact that everyone is pretty settled in their routines right now."

School leaders at Shenendehowa Central School District also said they're also reviewing the changed guidelines, and weighing what's best for the district.

"As a district, we are proud and thankful to everyone in our Shen community turning the calendar page to day 143 of in-person, virtual and hybrid learning models. We have been and will continue to unpack recent guideline changes to see how we best move forward as a district, with the safety of our students as top priority. There are many logistical pieces to consider with a district of our size. A good example is at the elementary level, the model is almost designed for cohorts because kids stay with the same teacher all day, but when you have kids crossing various course offerings, in some cases you have kids in different grade levels sitting in the same courses, it makes it a little bit more of a challenge. Question is, do you create a huge upheaval for the remaining 41 school days and get what in return? Or diligently use this time as a way for the district to pilot some scenarios and run simulations, so when we are full-bore for September, potentially, we are absolutely ready at that point. As leaders, we lean into challenges and look to transform them into opportunities. These changes are being monitored closely as we plan for the remainder of this school year and the start of the 2021-2022 school year. The future looks bright and we are steadfast in our commitment to excellence.” says Dr. L. Oliver Robinson, Shenendehowa's Superintendent of Schools."

The goal is to get kids back in the classroom full-time. But superintendents say that's easier said than done. And the state Department of Health is leaving it up to school leaders and county health leaders to decide.

"There's a paragraph in there that basically says we want to get all students back to in-person learning as soon as possible, however, they recognize there are circumstances where that may not be possible and the hybrid may have to continue." Slentz said.

A spokesperson for the NYS DOH sent CBS6 a statement saying "Schools are required to follow the guidance, which was put into place in order to ensure the safest instructional environment based on the latest science, as outlined by the CDC. As the guidance outlines, specifics regarding the new social distancing guidelines are local decisions that should be made following public comment and with input from local health departments.”