COLUMBIA, S.C. — The AccelerateED Task Force had their final meeting on Friday to give their final recommendations for in-person learning this fall.
The group was created by the Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) to asses how schools should navigate education since the COVID-19 health crisis.
Last week the task force offered their recommendations for public schools returning to in-person learning in the fall. On Friday, they gave final revisions and clarifications to those guidelines.
The biggest discussions surrounded how schools should accommodate social distancing in class rooms and school buses, how to improve distant learning, what cleaning protocols to put in place, and having PPE available for students and staff.
With the recent increase of COVID-19 cases in the state, Superintendent of Education, Molly Spearman, said the community must wear masks and social distance if anything is to change.
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“If we want to keep schools open, if we want to get back to a more normal life, we have to maintain social distancing and we have to wear masks while we’re out in public… It is one of the few things we know that are effective and folks are just not doing it.”
Spearman noted that the Department of Education is in “constant communication” with DHEC to work on establishing detailed protocols for dealing with COVID-19 in schools.
Alan Walters, a member of the State Board of Education, said the Accelerate ED recommendations are meant to be flexible.
“The conditions that are prevalent today are not necessarily going to be the same one’s next week or next month.”
The group realizes that not every recommendation will work for every South Carolina school.
Patrick Kelly, Coordinator of Professional Learning for Richland School District Two, said the task force’s guidance is not legislation – meaning they cannot enforce their recommendations across the state.
“Ultimately the efficacy of this task force report is incumbent on government officials to follow through on the recommendations and on the public to remain engaged in this process.”
The AccelerateED report states, “in order to best guide district decision making, the state department should collaborate with DHEC to develop clear criteria for determining the rate of spread of COVID-19 in an area. Districts need clear guidance from our public health authorities to determine which of the three health conditions – low, medium or high spread - an area is in.”
DHEC is still working on those guidelines.
The group also suggests removing standardized testing for the coming school year, “this task force recommends the State Department seek a waiver from accountability testing measures in the coming school year.”
Another big topic of discussion within the group was when the school year should start. The group asked districts not to start earlier than necessary.
“Given the impossibility of predicting health conditions in August," Kelly says, "districts should exercise caution and discretion when reviewing start dates for the coming school year.”
Kelly wrapped up the final task force meeting by discussing public feedback the group received. He says the group received emails from parents stating they want things to return to normal, the way things were before COVID-19.
“I hope we can all reject, as a state, any resistance to a new normal and a desire to go back to the old normal. We are not in a pre-COVID-19 world anymore,” Kelly said.
SCDE will vote on the allocation of Cares Act funding next week. To watch the full Accelerate ED task force meeting, click here.