Because special needs and ESL students don’t have enough problems.
Salem students who receive special education services, are learning English or don’t have reliable Internet access could see the inside of a classroom much sooner under updated Oregon school guidelines released Tuesday.
All Oregon schools can hold classes in person for students in those groups, even if counties are still having too many coronavirus cases to fully open schools. Students in career technical education programs, where hand-on learning is a major part of the curriculum, could also spend several hours per week in a school building.
Classes would have to be kept to no more than 10 students. And schools couldn’t operate in-person if any student or staff member has tested positive for the virus in the past 14 days.
It’s not clear what the latest about-face from the Oregon Department of Education will mean for many Salem-Keizer students, but thousands could be impacted. About 16% of students are learning English in school – more than 6,100 total students. Another 17% have a disability, and 280 reported they didn’t have reliable online access in the spring.
Notably for us, Jonah’s CTEC program is included in this mandate. Don’t be surprised if things get sporty between me and the school district if he’s forced to go.