COVID-19 will bring many new rules for Manatee School District students in 2020-21

What if schools reopen in August and students get into a fight, leaving the scene before teachers can intervene? How would employees identify the mask-wearing students? And if students have a high body temperature, do you let them on a school bus?

The School District of Manatee County is addressing a host of questions before it can reopen for the 2020-2021 school year and guard against COVID-19. A plan was taking shape on Tuesday, but there was much to be done.

“We are expecting students to be back on campus in some form or fashion, and we welcome that,” Superintendent Cynthia Saunders said, speaking at Tuesday’s school board workshop.

“We want them to be there,” she continued. “But we do need them to be safe, interacting with one another, but also for the adults in the building that, in some cases, are older and could be vulnerable to the disease.”

In a recent interview with the Bradenton Herald, the superintendent proposed three options: completely reopen school, continue with online learning or combine the two, rotating students between their digital and in-person classes each week. She also said families could choose to stay at home and continue with Schoology, the district’s online learning platform.

At the meeting on Tuesday morning, Saunders said the district would release a parent survey to gather feedback on June 1. She said plans could evolve with parent input, or with changes to COVID-19 data and the guidance from state and federal agencies.

Manatee County was nearing 1,000 positive cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday morning. It was among the top 10 counties for positive cases, and among the top five counties for deaths, Saunders said, underscoring the need for precautions.

“It is serious and we have to treat it serious,” she said. “But I think we need to prepare to bring kids back, in front of teachers, and do the very best we can by keeping the schools safe and clean.”

Draft guidance for the 2020-21 school year

As part of its meeting on Tuesday morning, the school board reviewed 12 additions to the 2020-2021 Code of Student Conduct, all related to COVID-19. If approved at a future meeting, the document would guide student attire and behavior during the pandemic.

Students would be allowed to wear “facial coverings,” but certain designs would be excluded, and any masks, scarfs or other coverings “may not be worn as headgear when not in use,” according to the draft guidance.

“Coverings or masks may not have images of alcoholic beverages, tobacco, or drugs, or contain language, artwork, symbols, or images that may be considered offensive or disruptive to the learning environment,” it states.

The district, Saunders said, was still working on its plan for masks in the upcoming school year. Perhaps students would be required to wear a mask in crowded areas, when moving between classes, but not in their classrooms, where desks will be spread apart.

The guidance also allowed for sanitizing wipes or bottles of hand sanitizer, and it continued the district’s prohibition on aerosol sprays in schools and buses.

Students would be encouraged to stay home “at the first signs of any cold, flu, or illness,” and students with a temperature of 100.4 would be sent home, according to the proposal.

“Rather than increase the number of days a parent may keep their child home with an excused absence, to the extent possible, students may sign-in through Schoology while home, complete the course work and have that count as a day of being in attendance,” it states.

COVID-19 “may potentially impact student athletics” and bus transportation, the guidance continued. At the meeting on Tuesday, the superintendent shared early ideas on how to safely transport students.

“If you load from the rear of the bus, working forward, you will not be crossing students as they’re getting on the bus,” she said. “We’ve had to think of all those things. How do you have the least amount of contact with other students and other people on the bus?”

Tuesday’s proposal also touched on historical issues, such as bullying, that could emerge in new ways during the pandemic.

“Threats to transmit the Coronavirus to others will be taken seriously,” the draft guidance states. “Any overt threat or action designed to convey or instill such fear in others will be grounds for disciplinary action and subject to the threat assessment process.”

“Teasing other students or spreading knowingly false rumors regarding others potentially having Coronavirus will be considered bullying and subject to appropriate disciplinary action,” it continues.

School board talks pros and cons

The board’s vice chair, Charlie Kennedy, asked about the need for both security and health in schools.

What if a group of students were involved in a campus incident, shielding their faces with masks, bandanas or other face coverings? Kennedy asked whether the masks would impede the use of security cameras, and whether there was a solution.

“Knowing your students, being where you should be, supervision, proactivity, building relationships: to me, those are way more effective than cameras,” said George Schrier, the director of student services.

His response followed a comment by Skip Wilhoit, the safe schools, drop-out prevention and student intervention specialist. He said the dress code barred clothing that was “disruptive to the learning environment,” a rule that may transfer to masks.

“You’re not going to have a mask with bloody teeth on it, and you’re not going to have a mask that’s got a Confederate flag on it,” he said.

Board member Dave Miner expressed his concern about the safe transportation of students. He said bus drivers would be the first line of defense when it came to checking temperatures and preventing the spread of COVID-19.

But if a student were to have a temperature of more than 100.4, how would the district respond? Parents might be at work, unable to pick up their children or let them back into their homes.

“Do we leave a kid at the bus stop? No,” he said. “What do we do?”

In response, Saunders said students would already be spaced out on the buses, and the district may offer face guards to students in need.

Saunders and Kennedy also discussed the idea of having another district vehicle, whether it be a car or a bus, to pick up students who have a fever or symptoms of an illness. In both plans, students would be transported to school, placed in isolation and then picked up by their parent or guardian

Whatever the plan may be, board member James Golden said the district would need support from families. He said there was no excuse for putting students or employees at risk.

“We need to be counting on parents to join us, not some foolish opposition to what we’re doing because we’re ‘attacking your freedom’ or any stuff like that,” Golden said. “We need you to join us because these buildings must be safe for everybody.”

This story was originally published May 26, 2020 at 4:09 PM.