The board split, 5-5, by delaying the start by three weeks.
As school districts across the country grapple with how and when to safely reopen during the coronavirus pandemic, the Kansas State Board of Education rejected Gov. Laura Kelly’s executive order to delay the start of the school year by despite the increasing cases of COVID-19 in the state.
In a virtual meeting on Wednesday, the 10-person board effectively blocked the order, which would have impeded any instruction from K-12 public and private schools from August 10 to September 8, in a divided vote. School districts can now decide when they want to start the school year for more than half a million students.
Kelly announced the executive order last week before revealing details Monday. The additional three weeks, he said, will give schools time to obtain supplies such as face masks, thermometers, and hand sanitizers, as well as review the virtual, hybrid and in-person learning curriculum options that the Board of Education state launched last week.
A law enacted last month by the Republican-controlled state legislature required the board to approve the Democratic governor’s executive order for the reopening of schools.
After the vote, Kelly said the decision “puts our students, teachers, their families and our economy at risk.”
“COVID-19 cases in Kansas are at their highest point and continue to rise. Our decisions must be reported by public health experts, not by policy,” the governor said in a statement.
Kansas currently has 24,104 confirmed cases of COVID-19, according to state data. Since early June, cases have been on the rise in the state. On July 13, Kansas saw a record number of new cases, at 1,447, according to the COVID Tracking Project.
During Wednesday’s board meeting, Kelly’s chief of staff Will Lawrence said the delay will give the state time to “flatten the curve.”
In voting for the order, Ann E. Mah said, “I want to be on the right side of history in this case.”
Jim Porter noted the irony of members deciding on the “wisdom” of sending students and staff back to school “from the comfort and safety of our own homes,” before voting yes on the order.
Opponents of the delay argued that districts, especially rural ones with no outbreaks, should make their own decision about reopening.
“This virus is not the same across the state,” said Jean Clifford before voting against the order.
Reacting on social media, some Kansans said they were “horrified” and “disappointed” by the rejection of the order, while others argued that this is not a “one-time decision” and hoped the districts would do “what is best for your students and staff. ”
Before Wednesday’s vote, some school districts had already announced plans to delay the start of the school year. On Tuesday, the school board in Kansas City, Kansas voted to start school on September 9, with virtual learning for the first nine weeks. The school district is located in Wyandotte County, which has the second highest number of COVID-19 cases in the state. Last week, the Topeka school board also approved a plan to remotely reopen on September 9.
Other school districts are still reviewing their plans, including Olathe in Johnson County, which has the highest number of cases in the state. Wichita, the largest school district in Kansas, has not yet released its plan, but said it wanted students to start in person in August.
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