As Maryland’s count of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus continues to rise, the state’s schools remain closed.
Friday brought another pushback to the potential reopening of Maryland schools, while there is a lack of clarity on a variety of education-related subjects.
Here’s what we do — and don’t — know about the rest of Maryland’s school year.
What we know
Schools will be closed until at least May 15.
Speaking at the Maryland State House on Friday, Superintendent of Schools Karen B. Salmon said the state’s public schools will remain closed through at least May 15. Before Friday, Salmon had ordered schools closed until April 24.
Salmon said Maryland officials made the decision to further postpone the reopening of schools “after extensive consultation with the State Board of Education and leading public health experts in the state.”
Schools will continue distance learning.
The continued closure of schools comes with the continuation of online learning.
Salmon said Friday the state’s school systems must submit plans to the Maryland State Department of Education that describe how they plan to continue educating students, including those who are in special education, are English learners or are homeless.
The plans will also include descriptions of the responsibilities of various staff and faculty, as well as parents and students; samples of what teachers and students’ days will look like; and details of how student performance will be assessed and monitored.
There are not enough devices, but more money is on the way.
Maryland is also trying to find ways to support the many students who might not have access to the necessary technology at home.
Within the next couple of weeks, there will be about $207 million heading to Maryland schools from the federal government, some of which could be used to provide laptops or internet access to families who don’t have it.
Some graduation requirements have been waived.
High school seniors are not required to pass state tests to earn a diploma this year, with the Maryland State Board of Education voting Tuesday to waive that requirement.
Normally, seniors need to pass American government, Algebra I and English 10 to earn a diploma, with the option of doing a project overseen by a teacher if they can’t pass the tests. Students are also no longer required to take the Maryland Integrated Science test; they were originally not required to pass it. Graduating seniors’ volunteer hours are also no longer required.
Although the board is not reducing the required 21 credits to graduate, it did unanimously vote to provide waivers for certain courses to career technology education students, while districts that require students to have more than 21 credits to graduate can reduce that requirement.
Standardized testing has been canceled.
High school seniors aren’t alone in avoiding certain requirements. The board voted last month to apply for a waiver from federal requirements to give assessments in grades three through eight and some in high school.
What we don’t know
Will schools stay closed until the end of the academic year?
Although neighbors Virginia and Pennsylvania are among the nearly half of the country’s states that have closed public schools for the rest of the school year — as has Washington D.C. — Friday’s announcement leaves the possibility that Maryland students return to school before the academic year is finished.
Most of the state’s districts end by mid- or late-June. Of course, there’s nothing preventing Maryland from further postponing the rest of the year or canceling it altogether.
“This is one of those decisions we need to make incrementally,” Salmon said. “We’ll take it little by little once we see what the results are.”
Will graduations happen?
The cancellation of the school year would likely bring with it the cancellation of high school graduations statewide, though Salmon called graduations “a local superintendent issue.” She noted they must follow guidelines set forth by Gov. Larry Hogan to stop the spread of coronavirus, but added they are working to find ways to recognize graduates while following social distancing requirements.
“What ideas I've heard were very creative,” Salmon said. “A lot of superintendents have talked about virtual celebrations.
“I don’t think we’re going to be seeing the types of ceremonies at this point that we had in the past.”
Will there be expanded summer school, and what will it look like?
When it comes to the three added weeks of school cancellations, Salmon said state leadership “will use this time to examine every option” in regards to summer school.
“After speaking with local superintendents this week, school systems have also started to develop plans for additional digital learning and the recovery of any lost instructional time in the form of planning expanded summer school programs,” Salmon said.
It’s not entirely clear what those plans will look like, with much of it dependent on whether those courses will be online as well or be able to be held in person. Salmon said the superintendents’ plans to this point for what should be a “robust” program have been “creative.”
What does this mean for spring athletics?
The Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletics Association, Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland and Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association have all indefinitely postponed sports activities.
The MPSSAA, which oversees public schools’ athletic activities, has required since the initial delay in March that teams not have practices until schools are reopened. The league postponed its state basketball tournament semifinals and championship games March 12 and has not announced whether they will be rescheduled.
The MIAA and IAAM, which supervise private school boys and girls athletics respectively, said in a March 30 statement they “remain hopeful that both leagues will be able to offer our student athletes an opportunity to return to play at some point this season.”
Will there be any long-term changes to schools?
There remains a possibility that the coronavirus pandemic will also affect the 2020-21 school year, with concerns of a second wave of the virus in the fall that could bleed into the winter.
“I’m not sure we are going to be doing school in the same way going forward,” Salmon told lawmakers last week.
How exactly that would be the case remains to be seen.
Baltimore Sun reporters Pamela Wood, Luke Broadwater and Liz Bowie and Capital Gazette sports editor Tim Schwartz contributed to this article.