BOSTON (AP) – New evidence that it may be safe for schools to place students 1 meter apart – half the previously recommended distance – could provide a way to bring more children back from the country to classrooms with limited space.
Even as more teachers receive vaccinations against COVID-19, social distance guidelines have remained a major hurdle for counties in the U.S. Debate over the issue flared up last week when a study suggested masked students can sit as close as 1 meter apart without increased risk to them or teachers.
Published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, the study looked at Massachusetts schools that have been supporting the 3-foot guideline for months. Illinois and Indiana also allow a distance of 3 feet, and other states like Oregon are considering doing the same.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are now also investigating the idea. The agency’s director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, said the 6-foot directive is “one of the biggest challenges” that schools have faced in reopening.
The CDC included the greater distance in its latest school guidelines, released in February, and concluded that schools can operate safely during the pandemic with masks, distancing and other precautions. It suggested 6 feet, saying physical distance “should be maximized as much as possible.”
Other organizations have issued more relaxed guidelines, including the World Health Organization, which is pushing for 1 meter in schools. The American Academy of Pediatrics tells space desks “1 meter apart and ideally 6 meters apart.”
Dan Domenech, executive director of AASA, a national group of regulators, said he expects more states and schools to move toward the 3-foot rule in the coming weeks. With the larger guideline, he said, most schools only have room to bring back half of their students at a time. Moving to 1 meter could allow about 75% at a time, he said.
“There are districts that have been 1 meter high for quite some time without experiencing a greater amount of infection,” he said.
In Illinois, health officials said last week that students can sit 10 feet apart as long as their teachers are vaccinated. In the past, government officials required 6 feet.
With the state’s blessing, the Barrington district near Chicago reopened high schools Tuesday using the shorter distance rule. Any student is allowed to attend in-person classes, although the district expects approximately 30% to continue with distance learning.
Questions about distance have sparked a battle in Massachusetts, where teachers and some schools oppose a state plan to bring back younger students five days a week starting next month. The plan calls for schools to space students 1 meter apart, although many use 6 feet as the default. Districts that fail to meet the reopening deadline run the risk of losing state funding.
The Massachusetts Teachers Association, a statewide union, argues that moving students closer together increases risk for everyone in the classroom. It is also a problem for districts that have contracts with teachers who have the 6-foot rule as a requirement.
“They can’t just throw six feet out the window. They cannot throw away what has been agreed, ”said Merrie Najimy, union president. “If they can’t make it work, they’ll have to come to a new deal.”
Worcester public schools are among those who shy away from the shorter distance. Tracy O’Connell Novick, a member of the district school committee, said switching to the 3-foot standard would mean a “bet on the health” of thousands of students and staff.
In Boston public schools, desks will be at least three feet apart, but teachers and staff will be asked to keep six feet away from students and other staff, if possible, district spokesman Xavier Andrews said. Schools will also use larger rooms and outdoor areas to keep students at a safe distance, he said.
In some states that already allow 3-foot spacing, schools say they have seen no evidence of an increased risk. School officials in Danville, Indiana, which moved to 1 meter in October, said students sat in class all year with no increase in virus transmission.
‘It has gone very well for us. I’m not going to say there hasn’t been a broadcast, but it has been mind-bogglingly low – like once or something, ”said Tim McRoberts, vice president of the school board. ‘We have kept our doors open. We have not had a temporary outage. “
In Ohio last month, the Cincinnati school board got a listening ear from parents and others when it suggested resuming personal learning at busy Walnut Hills High School under a model that required a distance of just 1 meter while the other schools would be 6 feet. use. .
Critics included Walnut Hills teacher Brandon Keller, who said the plan was dangerous. He warned the board that their decision “will have some bodies.”
Board members withdrew at the reopening of that school, narrowly voting for a plan with a phased reopening weeks later, but they also warned that the physical distance could be less than six feet. Students also have the opportunity to continue learning virtually.
Seven superintendents in central Oregon sent a letter to Gov. Kate Brown last week asking the state to relax some of its social distance rules – including the six-foot barrier – so that more students can attend class full-time return.
Oregon’s Crook County School District, which has had students in classrooms for most of the school year, has found that masking, contact tracking, and sending students home when they show symptoms are the most effective means of fighting the virus.
“The 6-foot rule doesn’t make as much sense as the other safety measures,” said city spokesman Jason Carr. “What might have made sense two months ago or at the beginning of the year, may not be the case now.”
Associated Press writers Philip Marcelo, John Seewer and Kantele Franko contributed to this report.