COLUMBUS – Governor Mike DeWine says the state fully intends for schools to reopen in the fall.
The governor said Tuesday the goal is to have kids back in the classroom but said at a news briefing that the date for when schools could start is completely up to local school boards.
“There’s going to be a lot flexibility,” he said during a televised coronavirus update at the Statehouse Tuesday.
The governor also says the state will provide districts broad health guidelines while recognizing that districts have different needs and are in different situations.
“A lot of the discretion is going to be left to the local community, as I think it should be,” DeWine said.
The state’s largest district is already working on a plan that combines classroom learning with online instruction.
Columbus City Schools superintendent and CEO Dr. Talisa Dixon has appointed a Reopening Task Force to come up with a plan that combines adherence health guidelines with providing an education for more than 50,000 students.
“We know that a return to the traditional school model is not feasible for the start of next year. Even with the challenges to meet health guidelines in our schools, we are still responsible for providing rigorous, engaging, and equitable academic opportunities for all students district-wide,” Dixon said.
The task force is charged with developing a plan to address implementing one or both of two options: a K-12 online academy for the 2020-2021 school year for parents who prefer to keep their children at home full time and a blended learning model that combines days of classroom learning with days of online instruction.
The district will apply for a waiver from the Ohio Department of Education to operate a full-fledged K-12 online school, Dixon said.
The governor also said health care providers can resume all procedures and surgeries that were postponed during the coronavirus pandemic, including ones that require overnight stays.
The state on Wednesday reported 36,792 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and 2,299 deaths.