S.20.3-2: Southern Schools COVID-19 Reopening Act (Law'd)

[tmthforu94]

Southern Schools COVID-19 Reopening Act

Per the July 27th Presidential address, the following is enacted:

1. Southern primary and secondary public schools located in Federal Alert Level 3 and 2 areas must operate fully remote.

2. Southern primary and secondary public schools located in Federal Alert Level 2 areas may operate in a physical location, but must practice strict social distancing guidelines, require the use of masks and operate at no more than 50% of total capacity at any given time. Students will rotate between in-person and virtual instruction every other week. Schools must conduct daily temperature checks on students and have staggered schedules such that no more than 10% of students are moving between classes at any given time. Students may opt-out of in-person learning and receive entirely virtual instruction if they so choose at no additional cost. School districts may opt out of this clause and continue to operate under Clause 1 of this Act.

3. Southern primary and secondary public schools located in Federal Alert Level 1 areas may fully operate in a physical location without capacity requirements. Strict social distancing guidelines and the use of masks must still be enforced.
School districts may opt out of this clause and continue to operate under Clause 1 of this act.

4. Failure for school districts to comply with this act may result in the freezing of regional funds, as directed by the Governor’s office.

5. This act shall go into effect immediately and shall expire on October 1, 2020. The Governor may extend this act at their discretion up to an additional 90 days before legislature reauthorization is required.

Sponsor: Tmth

48 hours minimum for debate.

[tmthforu94]

As referenced in the first line of this act, it is in response to federal recommendations for school reopenings. The guidelines are largely in line with the recommendations by the federal government, but after speaking with Governor MB, we are requiring that all schools in Level 3 and 2 areas operate remotely. In contrast, the federal suggestions have Level 3 as remote, whereas Level 2 areas are allowed to open in limited capacities.

I welcome any feedback or amendments and will answer any questions folks may have.

[Pericles]

I'd like to advocate for the federal guidelines to be applied in the South. I think physical schooling is pretty essential, and has major social benefits. It will also enable the wider economy to open up more effectively by giving parents more options. Bare in mind that Alert level 2 states have the outbreak quite well contained and I expect our testing and tracing system would stop widespread community transmission-so the situation is not equivalent to pretty much any current rl Southern state. We do have strict social distancing requirements in place at Level 2 and I think the existing guidance is a good compromise. Given that transmission both to and from young children is pretty low, the social benefit of limited physical schooling outweighs the low risk at the level 2 situation (this situation is different with high schools which is why they have to remain closed).

I recommend that the Southern regional government and states be smart in their safe reopening. Let's think of it as if we have a 'Covid budget', of a certain amount of relaxation of restrictions that can be done before it gets unsafe. Therefore, we should prioritise the activities that have the most social benefit with the least risk of transmission of Covid-19. Schools are clearly one of these activities. I set out some of the administration's recommendations in my speech but I'll go over it again. Outdoor activities should be prioritised, as the outdoor spread is much lower. Bars are one of the riskiest activities and my advice is that these should be low priority for reopening-these are poorly ventilated indoor spaces, where social distancing is hard to practice and where the social benefit is much less than physical schooling. So other tradeoffs may need to be made, but this is worth it. By being logical in allocating this 'Covid budget', the South and Atlasia overall can maximise the social benefit and minimise the Covid spread.

The right balance should be achieved. Just keeping everything closed is not sensible, when actually the situation in Atlasia is that is not necessary anymore. Lockdowns were necessary and need to remain an option, but we need to be mindful that they have negative consequences too.

[thumb21]

Pericles already said most of what I wanted to say. One thing I'll add is that it is well documented that long periods outside school tends to increase inequality between the students who are doing well, often those who have a quiet space at home where they can get on with their work and students who aren't doing well, especially those who live in more crowded households where its hard to focus.

While remote learning is a great tool that has helped us get through lockdown, its certainly not a replacement for the benefits of being physically at school. The partial reopening of schools for alert level 2 allows schools to give targeted support to students who have been struggling through lockdown which is a high priority with long term concequences.

[reagente]

Before commenting further, I would like to clarify - does this act apply to all schools, from Preschool through to Graduate/Vocational school, or is this order only directed at K-12 education?

Different student populations pose different transmission risks, so I think we might need a more differentiated approach to the specific type of schooling.

[Senator-elect Spark]

I support a phased reopening of schools. Some schools in rural areas aren't hit as hard as urban areas.

[tmthforu94]

I understand the concerns presented by my colleagues on the importance of physical schoolings - I agree completely that it is most ideal. In these times and considering the risk this virus poses, I believe what should be most top of mind is the health and safety of our children and our teachers. As restrictions have loosened this summer, we've seen some revert back to a "Party like it's 2019" mentality. Numerous teacher groups across the region have expressed serious concern at going back to school. We see in America the concern and most districts pushing back their start dates. That is why I believe we should wait until October 1 to see how the virus is contained and help ensure that a second outbreak does not happen. My preference is always to err on the side of caution when Atlasian lives are at stake.

I support a phased reopening of schools. Some schools in rural areas aren't hit as hard as urban areas.

This sets two phases so that schools in low-risk areas are allowed to open.

Before commenting further, I would like to clarify - does this act apply to all schools, from Preschool through to Graduate/Vocational school, or is this order only directed at K-12 education?

Different student populations pose different transmission risks, so I think we might need a more differentiated approach to the specific type of schooling.

The intent is K-12, I will introduce an amendment reflecting that below.

Southern Schools COVID-19 Reopening Act

Per the July 27th Presidential address, the following is enacted:

1. Southern primary and secondary public schools located in Federal Alert Level 3 and 2 areas must operate fully remote.

2. Southern primary and secondary public schools located in Federal Alert Level 1 areas may fully operate in a physical location without capacity requirements. Strict social distancing guidelines must still be enforced.
School districts may opt out of this clause and continue to operate under Clause 1 of this act.

3. Failure for school districts to comply with this act may result in the freezing of regional funds, as directed by the Governor’s office.

4. This act shall go into effect immediately and shall expire on October 1, 2020. The Governor may extend this act at their discretion up to an additional 90 days before legislature reauthorization is required.

24 hours for objection to this amendment.

[tmthforu94]

The amendment has been adopted.

[tmthforu94]

FYI, this is the initial version I had drafted based strictly off the President's statement. I've already stated by beliefs on why it should stay as is, but placing it here if anyone wanted to edit and offer it as an amendment.

Southern Schools COVID-19 Reopening Act
Per the July 27th Presidential address, the following is enacted:
https://talkelections.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=357808.msg7481329#msg7481329

1. Southern public schools located in Federal Alert Level 3 areas must fully operate remotely.

2. Southern public schools located in Federal Alert Level 2 areas may operate in a physical location two days out of each week, but must practice strict social distancing guidelines and at a maximum 40% capacity.
School districts may opt out of this clause and continue to operate under Clause 1 of this Act.

3. Southern public schools located in Federal Alert Level 1 areas may fully operate in a physical location without capacity requirements. Strict social distancing guidelines must still be enforced.
School districts may opt out of this clause and continue to operate under Clause 1 or 2 of this act.

4. Failure for school districts to comply with this act may result in the freezing of regional funds, as directed by the Governor’s office.

5. This act shall go into effect immediately and shall expire on October 1, 2020. The Governor may extend this act at their discretion up to an additional 90 days before legislature reauthorization is required.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

As much as anyone, I agree there is an importance behind in person and hands on education with as much direct interaction as possible. it is why the larger class sizes are so problematic. At the same time, there is the problem that comes with this virus and one concern that I would have is the level of mental and emotional stress if a child were to carry it home with them. That would be very detrimental to the success education wise, especially depending on the outcome for who they carry it home to.

[thumb21]

I don't think many people in Atlasia think we can just return as if its 2019, the re-opening of schools I'm thinking of and what we discussed in the DPC when we came up with the alert system was small numbers of students going in with strong social distancing measures, wearing masks ect.

I don't think the comparisons to irl America are too useful, since there hasn't been a rush from the Pericles administration or from the regions to prematurely lift lockdowns. This recent speech was I believe the first time lockdown restrictions have begun to be lifted, and in a very cautious way. Add to that a strong emphasis on building up testing capacity from the start as well as a strong effort to make use of contact tracing.

I also think that if we can't have a very limited re-opening in level 2 because of safety concerns, I don't understand why a full re-opening of schools would be allowed in level 1. Jumping over night from being too dangerous for a single student to go to school to it being safe enough for a whole class to return as normal doesn't make too much sense to me.

Here is an amendment which allows for a very small part of the school population to be at school in any given time, allowing for some targetted support to students that absolutely need it.

Southern Schools COVID-19 Reopening Act

Per the July 27th Presidential address, the following is enacted:

1. Southern primary and secondary public schools located in Federal Alert Level 3 and 2 areas must operate fully remote.

2. Southern primary and secondary public schools located in Federal Alert Level 2 areas may operate in a physical location, but must practice strict social distancing guidelines and at no more than 5% capacity at any given time.

3. Southern primary and secondary public schools located in Federal Alert Level 1 areas may fully operate in a physical location without capacity requirements. Strict social distancing guidelines must still be enforced.
School districts may opt out of this clause and continue to operate under Clause 1 of this act.

4. Failure for school districts to comply with this act may result in the freezing of regional funds, as directed by the Governor’s office.

5. This act shall go into effect immediately and shall expire on October 1, 2020. The Governor may extend this act at their discretion up to an additional 90 days before legislature reauthorization is required.

[tmthforu94]

Just confirming if you mean 5% and not 50%?

[thumb21]

Just confirming if you mean 5% and not 50%?

Yeah, 5%. Would allow for a limited number of students to come in and get support while still keeping schools for the most part closed.

[tmthforu94]

Just confirming if you mean 5% and not 50%?

Yeah, 5%.

Truthfully I'm not even sure if it is worth the resources to open schools if they can only operate at 5%. I'm operating on the assumption that we're basing capacity rates on how many are in the school, but perhaps I'm wrong on that. Using our biggest state, Texas, as an example, the average self-contained class size is 17.8 students, so would that mean that only 1 student can be in the class at a time? Or are you thinking of it in a different sense?

[thumb21]

Just confirming if you mean 5% and not 50%?

Yeah, 5%.

Truthfully I'm not even sure if it is worth the resources to open schools if they can only operate at 5%. I'm operating on the assumption that we're basing capacity rates on how many are in the school, but perhaps I'm wrong on that. Using our biggest state, Texas, as an example, the average self-contained class size is 17.8 students, so would that mean that only 1 student can be in the class at a time? Or are you thinking of it in a different sense?

I was thinking at 5% of total capacity, so in a school with say 1000 students, you'd have a maximum of 50 students in which seems reasonable to me. So for example, you might have 10 classes of up to 5 students going on at any given time.

[tmthforu94]

If we open too quickly we're going to have the same problems America is having, which is why I was cautious with having a greater reopening for Phase 2. I understand your reasoning though for targeted support, if we are keeping it that limited I am fine with it and accept the amendment as friendly. I would still like to add this line at the end of Clause 2:
"School districts may opt out of this clause and continue to operate under Clause 1 of this Act."

24 hours for objections to Thumb's amendment.

[thumb21]

Edited the amendment to include the opt-out sentence, also edited the capacity part to make it clear that this is about a school's total capacity, not an individual classroom's capacity.

Southern Schools COVID-19 Reopening Act

Per the July 27th Presidential address, the following is enacted:

1. Southern primary and secondary public schools located in Federal Alert Level 3 and 2 areas must operate fully remote.

2. Southern primary and secondary public schools located in Federal Alert Level 2 areas may operate in a physical location, but must practice strict social distancing guidelines and at no more than 5% of total capacity at any given time. School districts may opt out of this clause and continue to operate under Clause 1 of this Act.

3. Southern primary and secondary public schools located in Federal Alert Level 1 areas may fully operate in a physical location without capacity requirements. Strict social distancing guidelines must still be enforced.
School districts may opt out of this clause and continue to operate under Clause 1 of this act.

4. Failure for school districts to comply with this act may result in the freezing of regional funds, as directed by the Governor’s office.

5. This act shall go into effect immediately and shall expire on October 1, 2020. The Governor may extend this act at their discretion up to an additional 90 days before legislature reauthorization is required.

[reagente]

I object. It isn't worth the operating expenses to only be open at 5% capacity. With a 5% threshold and constant rotation, theoretically each student could be inside of the building one day a month? why bother at that point?

We should set capacity as high as we can while allowing for students to be 6 feet apart. Health guidelines that I have seen have said 44 square feet per student is what is necessary to maintain distancing.

https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/education/health-&-safety/Reopening%20Procedures.pdf
(page 21)

https://www.edweek.org/ew/section/multimedia/school-buildings-and-social-distancing-downloadable-guide.html

[tmthforu94]

Thumb’s amendment has been called to question. Delegates have 72 hours to vote.

[tmthforu94]

Aye

[reagente]

Nay

[Senator-elect Spark]

Aye

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Aye

[thumb21]

The point of the amendment is to allow for targeted support for students who are struggling the most, not a full scale reopening of schools to as many students as possible, atleast until the alert level is down to 1. Social distancing and wearing masks has a big impact but they aren't perfect and the more people there are in the same place, the higher the chance that the virus is spread.

As for the operating expenses issue, its obviously not the most efficient way of doing things (although there are many ways that schools are able to manage costs), but it balances the need for safety with the need for students to get some support. I think they are costs worth paying.

Aye

[tmthforu94]

The amendment has enough votes to pass. Delegates have 24 hours to change their votes.