Idaho closes schools for the rest of the year. But there’s a big catch.
Idaho ordered its schools closed for the rest of the school year due to the spread of the coronavirus — sort of.
A plan approved Monday by the Idaho State Board of Education extends the closure of public school buildings through the end of the academic year. But it also leaves local school districts the option to reopen their schools.
The State Board’s order says if local social distancing orders are lifted and districts meet yet-to-be-determined criteria by the State Board, they can reopen their doors. The State Board will set that criteria at next week’s meeting.
“We respect locally elected trustees to make decisions and their role in making decisions in their areas,” State Board President Debbie Critchfield said during the online meeting. “I just want to emphasize that in the motion is the word ‘or.’ So this will provide some flexibility and an opportunity for local districts to be able to make those decisions.”
Even if districts close their schools, education will continue remotely and they can continue to provide meals under the State Board’s plan.
The State Board passed up the opportunity to set a firm statewide order like it did March 23 when it shut all public schools until April 20. Since then, several members of the board said they heard from districts who chafed at the statewide order because they have not had any confirmed positive tests for the coronavirus in their area.
Critchfield said the State Board wanted to balance between local control and statewide uniformity.
“There are still counties with no active cases and some with very few,” board member Emma Atchley said. “I think that being able to give the local folks the opportunity to do what they wish to do is an important option we ought to keep in mind.”
As of Monday afternoon, 32 of Idaho’s 44 counties have at least one confirmed positive test for coronavirus. Amid limited testing, the state had 1,167 confirmed cases and 13 deaths at that time.
Idaho also remains under a stay-at-home order until April 15. Gov. Brad Little has hinted he may extend that order. And President Donald Trump extended national social distancing guidelines until April 30.
“I think the challenge for us is everybody talks about this curve, right?” board member Kurt Liebich said Monday. “Where are we on the curve, and where are we gonna be a month from now on the curve?
“And I think we need to recognize that there’s not just a national curve, there’s a state curve and then there’s a local, county curve. And depending on where you sit in the state, I think the timing of when you make decisions is going to be different. So I think that element of local control is important.”
Liebich expressed concern about public opinion if Idaho sent students back to school and national social distancing guidelines remained in place. Critchfield said that could be the case.
“I guess that there have been and will be federal guidelines that our state may or may not choose to use, recognizing the governor is the boss of the state,” Critchfield said.
Idaho was one of the last states in the country to issue a statewide closure of public schools in March. Only three other states had declined to close schools on March 23.
Since then, 13 states have closed their schools for the rest of the academic year. That includes neighboring Washington after its governor, Jay Inslee, issued the order while the State Board was meeting Monday.
Gov. Little has repeatedly deferred to the State Board for school closures.
“This has been a heavy burden for our board, frankly, and we don’t know what the right or wrong thing is,” Critchfield said. “Five years from now, we’re going to know either we were geniuses or we didn’t do the right thing.
“But I think, based on what we know now and understanding that this is very dynamic and fluid, I feel good about this. It provides a pathway or … an off-ramp for school districts to be able to make their decisions. And we’ll cross our fingers and see where we go.”
BOARD ASKS FOR MORE WAIVERS
The State Board also voted Monday to ask Little to waive educational requirements set in Idaho law. It requested waivers for the minimum number of instructional hours, a civics set and the Idaho Reading Indicator test given to kindergartners to third-graders.
The State Board previously waived the requirements for statewide testing, senior projects and college entrance exams for juniors and seniors.
This story was originally published April 6, 2020 at 4:46 PM.
