Arizona Releases Benchmarks For Safe School Reopening

ARIZONA — The Arizona Department of Education and the Arizona Department of Health Services on Thursday released their benchmarks for schools to safely reopen for in-person learning. The news comes at the end of the first week of school for many districts in the state, which has started virtually.

The following benchmarks are recommended: a two-week decline in weekly average cases or two weeks below 100 cases per 100,000 population, two weeks with test percent positivity below 7 percent and two weeks with less than 10 percent of hospital visits due to COVID-like illness.

“Our focus is ensuring that Arizona students and teachers have a safe and successful academic year, even though it may look different because of the ongoing pandemic,” Gov. Doug Ducey said in a statement. ”These benchmarks use public health data guided by recommendations from county, state, and federal experts to inform our schools on implementing a safe return to the classroom.”

According to a news release, the health department recommends that districts consider the level of community transmission in their respective county before considering reopening. Maricopa County currently meets the first recommended benchmark while Pima County currently meets the first and third, according to a dashboard the department included on its website. The dashboard will be updated every Thursday with new data.

The department is recommending that all three benchmarks fall into the moderate or minimal transmission ranges before schools consider a hybrid of virtual and in-person learning. Guidance will also be provided to schools for when someone tests positive for the coronavirus.

Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman said these benchmarks give schools some clarity on how to safely return to classroom instruction amid the pandemic.

“While it is clear that Arizona is not currently ready to resume traditional in-person or hybrid learning, we now have clear goals for knowing when it is safer to return to the classroom amid COVID-19,” she said. “I urge all school leaders to use these benchmarks to make safe decisions about learning in this school year.”

Last month, Ducey ordered that one school per district must be open for in-person learning on Aug. 17 in order to qualify for CARES Act funding.

This article originally appeared on the Across Arizona Patch