Gov. Laura Kelly orders Kansas K-12 students to wear a mask when schools reopen
All Kansas K-12 public and private school students, along with their teachers, will have to wear a mask. Everyone must sanitize their hands at least once an hour. All who enter school each day must have their temperature taken.
For the nearly 500,000 public school students in Kansas and their teachers, the upcoming school year will be unlike any they have seen. Gov. Laura Kelly on Monday released two executive orders governing schools — one delaying the start of school until after Labor Day and another mandating districts take certain safety precautions.
Kelly announced the orders last week, but her office released the actual texts Monday afternoon. They provide the fullest picture to date of what students, teachers and parents should expect this fall.
The safety order in some areas goes further than the statewide guidance adopted by the state Board of Education last week. It requires all students to wear a mask; the guidance exempted elementary students.
The order is silent on sports, but says that 6 feet of social distance must be maintained in buildings and other facilities with “only infrequent or moments of closer proximity.” The social distancing requirement doesn’t apply in classrooms when masks are being worn.
Kelly said that unlike her statewide mask order, counties cannot opt out of the safety requirements for schools.
“We can still flatten the curve and slow the spread of this disease,” Kelly said. “But that means everybody doing their part, wearing a mask, following the social distancing rules, avoiding mass gatherings and using good hygiene practices.”
Kelly’s other order, delaying the start of school until Sept. 9, requires approval from the State Board of Education, under a new state law that prohibits the governor from unilaterally closing schools. Republicans included the limitation in a compromise bill Kelly signed that governs her emergency powers during the pandemic.
The board has scheduled a meeting for Wednesday. It’s unclear whether the board’s eight Republicans and two Democrats will uphold the order or reject it. But Education Commissioner Randy Watson, who reports to the board, appeared with Kelly last week when she announced the decision.
“In the four counties I represent — Wyandotte, Leavenworth, and (parts of) Douglas and Johnson counties — all four of them have rising cases. So there’s no doubt that we need to calm this down a bit,” said Janet Waugh, vice chair of the board, who added that she is waiting to see the details of Kelly’s order before committing to a decision.
Two other board members, Ann Mah and Ben Jones, said they were waiting to read Kelly’s full orders before passing judgment. Other members did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Board member Steve Roberts said he plans to vote against the delay.
“It’s my understanding that we still have three counties in western Kansas who have not yet had a case of COVID, so why not let their schools open?” Roberts said.
Kathy Busch, board chair, said she doesn’t know how members will vote and said she has been talking with constituents, superintendents in her district and local medical experts before committing to voting a certain way.
“I have a feeling the vote will be close,” Busch said.
‘Many do not feel safe’
A group of public health experts, who have been mapping each state’s COVID-19 response, reports that Kansas is experiencing “uncontrolled spread” of the virus. On Monday, Kansas reported 23,334 coronavirus cases and 307 deaths. That’s up from 21,965 confirmed cases and 299 deaths reported Friday.
Some districts are encouraging their state board members to support the order.
Anthony Lewis, superintendent of Lawrence public schools, posted a letter he sent to Mah contending the delay will provide time for a local mask order to have an effect. He also wrote that a survey of staff and families revealed concerns with returning.
“Many do not feel safe returning to school at the present time and with COVID-19 case numbers spiking and Kansas listed as a ‘red zone,’” Lewis wrote, referring to a White House document that categorized Kansas as one of 18 states in a dangerous “red zone” because of a surge in the virus.
Last week, the state board of education approved reopening guidance from the Kansas State Department of Education. The guidance leaves it up to districts to decide how to operate schools depending on the severity of COVID-19 in their communities. Under the plan, districts could choose to bring all students back to class, move to online-only instruction, or implement a hybrid of the two.
Throughout the state, districts have been crafting their own reopening plans and disseminating surveys to determine how many students might return to classrooms this semester. Some districts, including Shawnee Mission and Olathe, have delayed approval of reopening plans until they learn more from the state.
The Star’s Bryan Lowry contributed to this story.
This story was originally published July 20, 2020 at 4:54 PM.
