Governor Hogan announced recently that improved COVID-19 health metrics across the state indicate that every county school system in Maryland is now fully authorized to begin safely reopening. The authority and decision making on safe openings continues to rest with county boards of education and these decisions should be based on a set of statewide metrics, guidelines, and benchmarks issued by the Maryland Department of Health (MDH) in collaboration with the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE). Read the guidance and benchmarks.

From the Governor’s press release,

“Nearly everyone agrees that there is no substitute for in-person instruction. It is essential that we all work together on flexible hybrid plans to safely get some of our kids back into classrooms and into healthy and supportive learning environments.”

State Superintendent of Schools Dr. Karen Salmon also encouraged local schools to reevaluate their modes of instruction at the end of the first quarter. The state is making $10 million in grant funding available to help systems that are able to move toward in-person instruction.

“While adherence to these metrics for re-entry into classrooms are not considered requirements, I am strongly encouraging local school systems to utilize our improving numbers and the provided metrics as the driving force for the decision to return to school buildings,” said Dr. Salmon. “Health and safety precautions must remain in place once we begin to bring more students back into schools, and school systems should continue to work in conjunction with local health officials to monitor trends in the metrics and any outbreaks at area schools.”

Maryland Deputy Health Secretary Dr. Jinlene Chan presented county-specific benchmarks for conversations among local officials regarding in-person instruction. These benchmarks are based on metrics that, taken together, reflect the levels of community transmission, including test positivity and case rates.

“I want to emphasize that this is guidance to aid in decision-making rather than being prescriptive, and there is flexibility that schools have to make decisions about how to best meet the educational needs of their students while taking into account the level of community spread and their capacity to implement the guidelines,” said Dr. Chan.

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