What we do and don’t know about Maryland’s school year after state announces reopening ‘guardrails’

Maryland education authorities are asking local school systems to work toward returning students to classrooms by the end of the year, while allowing districts to make their own decision on virtual versus in-person instruction for the fall semester.

In a news conference, Superintendent of Schools Karen B. Salmon stressed local flexibility for school reopenings, but set several “guardrails” for the 2020-2021 school year.

Here’s what we do — and don’t — know about Maryland’s upcoming school year.

What we know

Local school systems will decide when and how to reopen

School systems have until Aug. 14 to develop and submit education and recovery plans to the Maryland State Board of Education for review. School systems can choose to implement a more restrictive recovery plan than that of the state.

Most of the school systems in the Baltimore area have already announced plans to begin the school year virtually, including Baltimore City and Anne Arundel, Baltimore and Howard counties, and will decide later whether to add in-person classes. Harford County will have online classes, but is also opening learning centers where students can work through online lessons with an adult.

Schools will have to follow three state “guardrails.”

The Maryland State Department of Education has set three “guardrails” for the 2020-2021 school year. School systems must adhere to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for schools, comply with state health protocols for addressing an outbreak of COVID-19 and include equity as a benchmark for local recovery plans, Salmon said.

All school systems must meet a series of benchmarks including the establishment of local education recovery stakeholder groups and identification of learning gaps and instructional placement of students, Salmon said.

Schools must also ensure safe transportation for all students, develop a system for tracking attendance and follow the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association guidance for interscholastic activities and athletics, she said.

Students and staff will need to wear masks

In following CDC guidelines, all staff and students must wear cloth face coverings, particularly when physical distancing is not possible, Salmon said.

Some special education advocates have said that safety measure may pose accommodation challenges for students with sensory processing issues.

And the state hasn’t addressed whether school systems must provide or pay for face masks when families cannot afford them.

Federal funding is coming.

Maryland is expected to received $210 million in federal funding for remote learning and tutoring to help schools and students most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

About $100 million is earmarked to help school systems purchase devices and connect them to the internet and another $100 million will go toward implementing tutoring. The remaining $10 million will go toward rural broadband.

What we don’t know

Will there be in-person classes?

It’s unclear. School systems are looking at virtual, in-person and hybrid models for instruction this year.

Administrators have until Aug. 14 to submit specific recovery plans to the Maryland State Board of Education for review.

But Salmon made it clear that her goal is that students return to classrooms this school year.

“We want to get students back to school as soon as possible for in-person instruction,” she said.

What about sports and extracurriculars?

While school system leaders consider how to hold classes, some families have asked what will become of sports and extracurricular activities. The decision will likely fall to school systems, as the state has not provided specific guidance.

In June, the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association published a roadmap for the return of interscholastic athletics for local school systems to “re-socialize students in athletics and activities in a safe and controlled environment.”

“It’s going to be hard to look at traditional competition, because that doesn’t fit with any of the CDC guidance,” said Harford County schools superintendent Sean Bulson. “That will be left up to districts. Quite frankly, I think we’re OK with things being left up to districts, we’ll make those decisions. They aren’t easy decisions.”

When will the school year end?

Some school systems have pushed the start of the 2020-2021 school year until after Labor Day. It’s unclear how that — or a serious outbreak of COVID-19 — might affect the length of the school year.

In May, the state board of education waived the requirement that students be in school for 180 days during the 2019-2020 academic year, slicing five days off the calendar at the request of local superintendents. Such district requests must also be approved by the state superintendent.

Maryland school officials also changed the school calendar for private and parochial schools, reducing the requirement that students in those schools attend for 170 days by five days.

State officials have not yet said whether this school year will be shorter, or longer than the usual 180 days.

Will schools still have to abide by all state and federal requirements?

It’s unclear what will happen with testing, such as annual state math and reading assessments and tests required for graduation. Many of those exams are required under federal law, but the U.S. Education Department waived those requirements after schools closed in March.

Likewise, the state board of education waived some graduation requirements for students last spring.

It’s not clear if schools will be able to meet all those mandates if students are learning from home or if the state and federal government will offer some flexibility.