(LOUISVILLE, Ky.) -- Kentucky education leaders say the state's Healthy at School guidance is expected to be released Wednesday during Gov. Andy Beshear's 4 p.m. press conference.
The Kentucky Department of Education has been releasing reopening guidance for schools since May. Some districts have taken that information and already made their plans for starting the 2020-2021 school year.
"I have seen a number of districts announce plans for moving their start date by two weeks. I have another district I know of starting their year going into NTI," said KDE spokesperson Toni Konz Tatman.
The Healthy at School guidance will come from the Kentucky Department for Public Health. Konz Tatman says she expects this to be a very fluid document as situations change surrounding COVID-19 and as logistics come into play inside a school setting.
In a virtual meeting Monday, superintendents brought up questions about how the guidance might address masks or temperature checks and what that would look like for a school day.
In that meeting, Interim Commissioner Kevin Brown said masks should be worn inside the school during times when social distancing of at least 6 feet isn't possible.
"It's my understanding that the expectation from public health will be that, if you're unable to provide 6 feet distancing in a classroom which obviously adds up quickly per student, that masking is the expectation when students are 6 feet apart," he said.
Konz Tatman says drafting guidance that accommodates Kentucky's 171 school districts has been a challenge and the goal is to be able to safely return to in-person instruction when that is possible.
"As we work on reopening our schools for 650,000 children in Kentucky, this is going to be a challenge for all of our communities and all of our school districts," she said. "Every day we do the best we can and provide the best guidance we can so we can hopefully get back to normal."
She also encourages each school district to find the best practices for their school community.
"The challenge will be for all 171 districts, local districts to come up with a plan that best fits their community because what works in one district will not necessarily work in another district," she said.
You can watch the governor's press conference on WDRB or on WDRB.com to see the Healthy at School guidelines as they are announced.
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