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One day after the education summit, the Bavarian cabinet set the course for the start of the new school year in a week. The stated goal of Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) and his ministers is more normalcy in schools again, Corona notwithstanding: after only half of the classes were held on a weekly or daily alternation basis before summer break , all students should now sit in their classrooms again at the same time. . A “regular operation with a comprehensive hygiene concept” is planned.
Although the cabinet decided on the previously announced two-week mask requirement for students and teachers in high schools, other than that, restrictions in schools should only come much later than previously planned if the number of infections increased. Instead of the previous four-step plan, a smoothed three-step plan now applies.
General mask requirement for a limited time
To prevent entire classes or even schools from having to be closed again at the beginning of the school year due to Corona, a mask requirement is applied to high schools in the first two weeks of school, including lessons: September 8-18 , students and teachers should also wear a face-to-face cover on their seat in the classroom. Elementary students and their teachers are exempt from this mask requirement.
In addition to their seat in the classroom, all students are required to wear a mask, for example, on the schoolyard, in the hallways of the school building, and in the bathrooms.
The new three-step plan
The deciding factor for possible restrictions in daily school life is the infection rate in the respective district or urban district. The following three-step plan was developed for this purpose:
Stage one – regular operation: With an incidence of seven days out of 35, regular operation in hygienic conditions is planned.
Level two – mask requirement in class: If the incidence of seven days in a circle reaches 35, high school students should also wear a mouth and nose cover on the classroom seat. This mask requirement only does not apply if a minimum distance of 1.5 meters can be guaranteed between students in the classroom. Elementary schools are exempt from this rule. Originally, a mask requirement was planned starting at a value of 20.
Stage three: alternation between face-to-face and distance learning: The limit for the division of classes and the change of face-to-face and distance learning increases, from 35 to 50. From this threshold, the minimum distance of 1.5 meters is reintroduced in the classroom. According to the Ministry of Culture, this generally means that classes are divided and groups have classroom and distance lessons that alternate weekly, unless the minimum distance at school can be maintained. It is mandatory to wear a mask in class, also for primary school students.
According to the ministry, the threshold values are “indicative criteria”: the decision on which level to apply is made by the responsible health department in coordination with the school inspection.
Classes or schools closings
According to a ministry spokesperson, the scenario of school closings nationwide no longer appears in the new hygiene plan. However, according to Piazolo, individual classes or several or even entire schools will be closed due to the Corona cases. Then there will be distance learning and emergency care.
Updated hygiene plan
The hygiene plan for schools prepared by the Ministry of Culture was updated once again. According to Piazolo, schools are recommended, among other things, to teach fixed groups if possible, to ventilate all rooms intensively and “let the break start earlier”, based on staggered lessons and staggered breaks. The additional school buses are intended to equalize the arrival times of children and youth to schools. The Free State bears the additional costs for this.
Test series for teachers
From August 24 to September 18, free trials of the crown series have been offered to all teachers and other school staff. Piazolo explained that so far, more than 50 percent of teachers have reported without commitment.
