Education guidelines calls for state stockpile and distance learning protocol.

In conjunction with the release of AccelerateED's final draft report Friday, S.C. Education Superintendent Molly Spearman said she expects students and school faculty who can wear a mask to wear a mask.

"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 when we're out in public. You will see that (S.C.) DHEC and the Department of Education will set an expectation for mask wearing among school communities," Spearman said during a virtual meeting.

The draft (.pdf), made official today at 2:30 p.m. after feedback from 25 task force meetings and 2,000 public comments, calls for Health and Safety Infrastructure Grants to install social distancing infrastructure like plexiglass dividers and new HVAC systems as well as a state stockpile of personal protective equipment. The report says that cloth face masks for teachers have already been provided by the S.C. Department of Administration but those masks fall short of performance requirements. Face shields present a more viable solution for teachers, according to the report.

"Will it be required for all? No, because there are some folks, some children who should not wear masks, but certainly, we need to press on our faculty and our parents that one way to hold down the spread is to wear masks," Spearman said.

Recommendations also called for general districtwide task forces and mental health crisis response teams, nurses in the 166 schools around the state that don't already have full-time access to medical help and creating qualifying criteria and digital services for families pursuing homebound learning options. A distance learning contingency plan should be in place at all districts by the beginning of the school year, according to the report.

The report cited a national May 26 USA Today survey noting that 30% of students were "very likely" to tap into homebased learning options even if schools reopen. Suggested alterations to the school calendar included year-long learning with two-week breaks, an extended winter break, scheduled distance learning practice days and semester-by-semester planning.

The task force suggested that coronavirus relief act funding could...

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