Guidelines for in-class education released

New guidelines to help schools navigate the result to school in September have been released by the provincial government.

“We’re putting these guidelines out well in advance of the start of the school year so school divisions and teachers have ample time to prepare,” said Gordon Wyant, the education minister, at a media conference June 18.

“We're open to any input from school divisions and teachers, and may tweak these guidelines between now and the start of the school year as we work with our educational partners.”

The precautionary measures within the guidelines aim to reduce risk of infection and include setting standards for cleaning and sanitation, promoting proper hygiene practices among students, establishing protocols for limiting shared materials and equipment, and modifying room configurations when possible to allow for physical distancing.

“These guidelines reinforce minimizing that physical contact while maintaining a school atmosphere that's normal and as comfortable as possible,” Wyant said. “This may mean playing shadow tag or giving air high fives during recess.”

Parents and caregivers are asked to monitor their children for any symptoms of illness. If there are any, then students shouldn’t be sent to school.

Dr. Saqib Shahab, the province’s chief medical health officer, said the guidelines are based on best expert evidence, as well as the experience of other places in the world that have reopened schools.

Wyant told media he doesn’t expect class sizes will have to be made smaller due to the pandemic.

“From my perspective, I don't think you're going to see any material changes with respect to those numbers.”

The education minister said there's no plan to restrict the number of children that are on a school buses.

“What we've done is we're going to be putting in a plan for so that we will be able to do contact tracing for kids who are on buses,” he said. “There will be a seating plan that's going to be mandatory for every school bus so every child will have the same seat on a school bus.”

In a media release, Patrick Maze, the president of the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation, said there were a lot of questions on how the guidelines will be implemented in an effective and practical manner come fall.

“The health and safety of teachers, students and other staff cannot be compromised,” he said. “We will continue to work with our sector partners to ensure detailed health precautions and protocols are developed, implemented and funded.”

The guidelines can be found here (warning .pdf).