State officials on Wednesday said school districts can hold in-person summer learning opportunities and graduation ceremonies, reopening school buildings, in a limited way, after months of instruction done remotely.
During a news conference on Wednesday afternoon, State Superintendent of Schools Karen Salmon also said child care centers can reopen with no more than 15 children in a room. Outdoor high school sports practices can resume, she said.
Counties that have been harder hit by the virus — like Montgomery County — have the authority to delay implementation.
Montgomery County remains in the first phase of reopening and has been slower to ease restrictions than the rest of the state.
Early Wednesday afternoon, County Executive Marc Elrich said Montgomery County will move into the second phase of reopening sometime next week.
Elrich told Bethesda Beat later Wednesday, after Salmon and Gov. Larry Hogan spoke, that it is up to MCPS to decide whether to begin summer programs, have in-person graduations or allow outdoor sports activities to resume.
“That’s their business,” Elrich said in an interview.
MCPS spokesman Derek Turner wrote in a text message to Bethesda Beat that the school district is “exploring all possibilities at this time and will continue to engage the community about our plans. Any decision will be with the safety of our students as the priority.”
During Hogan’s press conference on Wednesday afternoon, Salmon implored school districts to make summer school slots available first to “those that have been most deeply impacted by the pandemic or those who have struggled with distance learning.” That could include young children, students with disabilities and students who do not have access to a laptop or the internet to participate in remote education. No more than 15 students will be allowed in a classroom at a time.
“Without an intense focus on these students, they would be the last to recover,” Salmon said. “… Longstanding gaps in educational opportunity and access have further exposed and widened during this COVID-19 crisis.”
Hogan encouraged school districts to hold in-person outdoor graduation ceremonies “with appropriate capacity and distancing measures in place.”
Montgomery County Public Schools officials previously said they plan to hold in-person graduation events when health officials determined it is safe to do so.
MCPS held a virtual commencement ceremony on Sunday and each high school has a separate ceremony scheduled this week.
“As the unprecedented 2019-20 school year draws to a conclusion, I want to first congratulate all of our 2020 high school seniors that have either already graduated or are still pending graduation ceremonies,” Salmon said. “… They will be the ones who carry us forward in the future with all of their good ideas about how we deal with these kinds of issues in the future.”
Staff writer Briana Adhikusuma contributed to this story
Caitlynn Peetz can be reached at caitlynn.peetz@moco360.media
