SC education department approves first school reopening plans in Midlands
South Carolina has approved another round of school reopening plans, the department of education announced Thursday.
The S.C. Department of Education approved 25 school reopening plans, including several from the S.C. Midlands.
“We are committed to ensuring that the safety needs of every school is being met in preparation for reopening,” S.C. Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman said in a news release. Every citizen can help in this effort by wearing a mask, practicing social distancing, washing their hands regularly, and staying at home when sick.”
In the S.C. Midlands, the department approved all five school districts in Lexington County. Lexington 1, 3 and Lexington -Richland 5 are all offering both a “hybrid” option and a virtual-only option.
Lexington 1’s “hybrid” option will divide students into two cohorts. The first cohort, AA, will attend in-person classes on Mondays and Tuesdays; while the BB cohort will attend classes on Wednesday and Thursday. On Fridays and days where student are not physically in school, students will use online learning. The goal is to transition to five days of in-person class by Sept. 28, according to the Lexington 1 reopening plan.
Lexington 2’s hybrid model will be similar, calling for two days per week of in-person learning and three days per week of virtual learning, according to its reopening plan.
Lexington-Richland 5’s reopening plan had originally called for five days of in-person classes per week, but has since changed that to a hybrid model where students will spend two days per week in the classroom and three days per week learning virtually, according to a message posted on the district’s website.
Elsewhere in and around the Midlands, the department also approved school reopening plans for Aiken, Calhoun, Edgefield, Kershaw, Lancaster, Newberry and Orangeburg counties.
Monday, the department approved its first round of school reopening plans. Of the six plans initially approved, four of them offered five day per week, in-person education for at least some students. The other two offered “hybrid” models, which combine online learning and in-person classes.
Along with the initial release, the department said it would require all students, staff and faculty to wear masks on buses. The department also increased the maximum capacity of buses from just under 50% to 67%.
In order to be approved, school plans must offer parents the choice to return either in-person or virtually. While schools are required to work toward — and have a plan for — returning to five days per week of in-person classes, they are not required to offer a full week of traditional instruction at the beginning of the school year.
The following school district reopening plans have been released:
- Abbeville County School District
- Aiken County Public School District
- Beaufort County School District
- Calhoun County Public Schools
- Darlington County School District
- Edgefield County School District
- The School District of Greenville County
- Greenwood School District 50
- Hampton School District One
- Kershaw County School District
- Lancaster County School District
- Laurens County School District 56
- Lexington County School District 1
- Lexington County School District 2
- Lexington County School District 3
- Lexington School District 4
- Lexington-Richland 5
- School District of Newberry County
- School District of Oconee County
- Orangeburg County School District
- School District of Pickens County
- Williamsburg County School District
- York School District 1
- Rock Hill School District 3 (York 3)
- Fort Mill School District (York 4)
This is a developing story. It will be updated.
This story was originally published July 30, 2020 at 12:42 PM with the headline "SC education department approves first school reopening plans in Midlands."