Gov. Walz Announces Plan For Opening MN Schools

APPLE VALLEY CHAMBER NOTE:  Below is a link to the detail but this afternoon, the Governor announced his education plan for students in the fall. Their SAFE LEARNING MODEL will have 3 levels of models:  IN PERSON, DISTANCE LEARNING and HYBRID OF THE TWO. It will depend on local data. If there are 10 positive cases of COVID per 10,000 population then schools must do distance learning. However the Governor made clear that each school district can implement stricter levels than mandated. Parents may also keep kids home under certain circumstances.  They also said students ages 15-18 are more likely to bring home COVID than younger kids based upon a just released S. Korean study. Students will be required to wear masks at all times and the state will provide for every student with a mask made from cloth. Each student will also receive 3 disposable masks in case they forget one.  Some young students as well as deaf will be given clear facemasks so that lips can be seen. See the linked articles for more details.

Dakota County case rate per 10,000 is 16.79, which would put District 196 schools in the 10-20 range. That policy shows elementary being taught in-person and middle and high school being taught under the hybrid model. The Governor said even that can change. For example a new school with a lot of room might be able to change their teaching model based on ample room. He is giving a great deal of latitude to each school district.

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