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As the countdown to Aug. 17 winds down for students to be allowed on school campuses statewide for in-person instruction, so does the time to address unanswered questions.
While many of those questions have come from parents and staff, the Scottsdale Unified School District Governing Board has its own questions remaining that await answers for its scheduled Aug. 18 meeting, which is a day after the government-mandated return of students and staff on campus.
Earlier in the month, the Governing Board included in its discussions the implications of Governor Doug Ducey’s executive order, dated July 23, entitled “Arizona: Open for Learning,” which covers various COVID-19-related issues such as district requirements on recommended public health benchmarks for a safe return of in-person, teacher-led classroom instruction according to Maricopa County Public Health officials.
While district representatives convened a workgroup to assist in forming recommendations for board members to consider at the upcoming meeting, there was a recent concern expressed by SUSD Governing Board member, Jann-Michael Greenburg about stipulations in the governor’s executive order, stating in paragraph three, requiring districts to “. . . begin offering free on-site learning opportunities and support services for students who need a place to go during the day,” beginning Aug. 17.
Therefore, the question was raised about who is determined to “need a place to go during the day,” and, how that is possible with pandemic restrictions like social distancing, limiting capacity, etc.
While information such as accommodating those requiring special education was included in the district’s Return to Learn Plan, approved on July 9, clarification was still needed about the “need” for others deemed qualified for on-site support services or in-person instruction at schools since districts must offer “free on-site learning opportunities and support services for students who need a place to go during the day.”
In addition to the district offering optional online learning that began on Aug. 10, SUSD also determined to open five centers including Desert Canyon Elementary, Hopi, Pima, Pueblo, and Tonalea K-8 to accommodate 100 students during the school day at no charge and before/after school care options provided through Community Education and the City of Scottsdale for Tonalea K-8 after school care.
Priority is given for the following groups:
- Children of parents who are emergency responders and staff members;
- Title 1, special education students; and
- Students of essential workers.
Likewise, a Learning Lab at Coronado High School was also set to open Aug. 17 to serve the needs of students in grades 6-12 in compliance with the requirements of the executive order with additional sites to open based on established need.
“SUSD built on that order with a limited re-opening of five campuses for a total of 500 students, 100 at each campus location, beginning Aug. 10, 2020, the aim of which was to provide a safe place for students who needed a place to go during the day. This program prioritizes space for students based on certain criteria,” Mr. Greenburg said, citing an example of a parent who is an essential medical worker whose child would qualify.
Commending the district’s efforts on a “great initial project,” Mr. Greenburg noted that it does not comply with the executive order for the following reasons:- The order does not permit SUSD to arbitrarily limit the number of students;
- The order does not permit SUSD to prioritize certain students over others; and
- The order does not permit SUSD to limit the number of students in order to be able to comply with CDC guidelines.
“I was clarifying that the initial program does not comply with the executive order and I wanted to ensure that we would be complying with the law on Aug. 17, 2020 by opening our campuses to all students with a ‘need’ for a place to go,” Mr. Greenburg said.
Although he said he appreciated the governor’s flexibility on this issue, Mr. Greenburg noted his disagreement with the language used as he detailed how critical it was for the school to provide a safe place for students to go when not safe at home.
“The difficulties that exist in using objective criteria are numerous and could lead to parents or guardians claiming their child ‘needs’ to be in school, when in reality their child would be perfectly safe learning from home. If too many students come to our schools at this time, it could have an adverse impact on our resources,” he said.
Recognizing that the all-encompassing terminology used could possibly include parents/guardians unable to stay or work from home who may “need” a place for their children to go during the day; special needs students including those categorized under Title I and/or requiring specific educational interventions,
Mr. Greenburg added that there was not enough staff to be present due to legitimate personal health and safety concerns, and Arizona’s attempt to lower COVID-19 infection rates.
“However, the governor’s language is so broad that it covers all students who ‘need a place to go during the day.’”
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August 14, 2020 at 05:03AM
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