Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey on Wednesday ordered all public and charter schools to transition back to in-person learning as coronavirus numbers in his state have experienced a sharp decline.
Ducey issued an executive order mandating educational institutions return to teacher-led instruction no later than a school’s spring break or March 15 if the time off isn’t in place. The Republican also ordered the Arizona Department of Health Services to “update” its “schools dashboard to reflect the metrics used by the Centers for Disease Control” for the reopening of education centers.
“School administrators, working with local public health officials, should assess the level of risk in the community since the risk of introduction of a case in the school setting is dependent on the level of community transmission,” a portion of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance, titled “Operational Strategy for K-12 Schools through Phased Mitigation,” read.
The CDC recommends the use of two measures of community burden to determine the level of risk of transmission: “total number of new cases per 100,000 persons in the past 7 days; and percentage of nucleic acid amplification test (NAATs) results that are positive during the last 7 days.”
The CDC has previously advised that schools can reopen safely, even without vaccinations for educators, a demand made by teachers unions throughout some of the country’s largest cities.
The move is “one of the most important things” amid a downturn in cases, Ducey said.
“Getting kids back in the classroom is one of the most important things we can do as we see #COVID19 cases drop and vaccinations underway,” he wrote in a tweet. “A majority of Arizona public schools are already open, and school leaders have demonstrated in-person instruction is possible to do safely. The @CDCgov has laid out a path for every school to open safely. Public health experts nationally have spoken about the importance of getting kids back in school.”
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He continued: “I know not every parent feels comfortable sending their kids back to school. So virtual learning will continue to be an option for those families. But many do want to go back, and this will require schools to provide that opportunity. The science is clear, and so are the social and behavioral impacts. It’s time to get kids back in the classroom.”
Ducey’s order also mandated schools notify parents of the changes, and educational institutions may not shut down unless a health department identifies a “significant outbreak” of the virus.
Texas and Mississippi decided to implement reopening plans and eliminate state-sanctioned mask mandates.
“This must end,” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said during a press conference in Lubbock. “It is now time to open Texas 100%. Everybody who wants to work should have that opportunity. Every business that wants to be open should be open.”
“I am issuing a new executive order that rescinds most of the earlier executive orders. Effective next Wednesday, all businesses of any type are allowed to open 100%. That includes any type of entity in Texas. Also, I am ending the statewide mask mandate,” he said.
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CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky advised against the relaxing of regulations on the same day.
“Please hear me clearly,” she said. “At this level of cases with variants spreading, we stand to completely lose the hard-earned ground we have gained.”
“Now is not the time to relax the critical safeguards that we know could stop the spread of COVID-19 in our communities, not when we are so close.”
