Reply to MCPS Officially announces schools opening as planned

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Here's what they should do for this week, and perhaps most of January til cases head down.

1. On Monday-Tuesday, test every kid who is at school (none of this sending tests home).  If there are tests available, repeat this every Monday-Tuesday til cases head down.

2. Have kids on an alternating schedule A-M; N-Z.  Last year when they did this, they allowed special needs kids to come every day and I've no idea how this affects numbers but in principle I'd be fine with it.  Could make the same accommodation for at-risk kids (based on MAP scores or something) though I suspect this wouldn't work, but in principle, a good idea.  The goal would be that each classroom would be at about 60% capacity.  The other half of the class would be online the other day (the way they did last year).
3. There would be some threshold (maybe school-level threshold) for going back to 100%... probably feasible by late January.  
What this achieves:
-Kids are back in school 5 out of 10 days every two weeks, so the mental health and other issues cited last year would be less prominent.
-Teachers could continue to give real tests (not open-note/at home tests), though they'd need to make two versions of any tests since kids would be taking on different days.  They could more easily pull out kids who need extra attention or have questions when those kids are in person.
-Social distancing (which frankly didn't exist in fall semester despite what MCPS said) would be feasible.  Teachers could arrange the classroom to stay farther away from kids while teaching.
-Any infected kid would expose fewer others. 
-Kids who are out of school either in quarantine or with less symptomatic covid or because of parents' fear would have a real educational option-- they'd just log in virtually every day.  (Something would need to be worked out for those in-person tests, but that's doable.)

Viola.[/quote]

They can’t test without consent, and only half of students have opted in. [/quote]

Only because that is what they decided.  They can decide differently, given a different set of circumstances.  Those who opt out do virtual school.[/quote]

Setting aside the legal and ethical issues of demanding a medical test to obtain a right granted by state/federal law, MCPS has neither the tests nor the staff to do what you described.[/quote]

They still get their education (which is their right)--they get it virtually.  And they don't deprive my kid his access to education by infecting him with a deadly virus.[/quote]

Perhaps, although I'm skeptical a court would agree that involuntary virtual school is FAPE.

But again, the more immediate problem would be that there simply aren't tests or staff to test everyone.[/quote]

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