Minnesota Middle and High Schools Can Reopen Next Week, Walz Says

ST. PAUL, MN — Middle and high school students across Minnesota will be able to return to the classroom as soon as Monday after Gov. Tim Walz laid out a new roadmap to reopen campuses.

Beginning Feb. 22, schools will now have the option to implement a hybrid learning model or opt for in-person instruction provided they follow safety guidelines to help protect students and faculty from the coronavirus. The reopening follows the state’s decisions back in January to allow elementary schools to resume in-person instruction.

Walz, speaking from the state’s emergency operations center on Wednesday, said the decision to reopen schools came after months of sacrifices from Minnesotans to help curb the rise of positive COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. It was time to go on offense and “take back the things that make life so wonderful for us,” he declared.

“It’s time to get our students back to school and we can do that now safely,” he said. “We have a very robust plan.”

Students, staff and any other visitors returning to a campus will be required to wear face coverings at all times while on the grounds and while riding in school transportation, as part of the state's updated plan to reopen schools.

Parents and students will also be encouraged to take a COVID-19 test every two weeks, regardless of any symptoms showing, as an extra layer of protection and to help catch any possible asymptomatic cases.

Schools must also ensure there is enough room on their campuses for students and staff to maintain six feet of physical distancing from one another during the course of a school day. If six feet isn’t possible, schools must provide a minimum of three feet of distancing, according to the updated reopening guidelines.

This can be done through spacing out desks between students and cutting back on classroom sizes in order to maintain proper distancing.

Schools will also be required to document where students gather during mealtimes to help with contact tracing efforts in the event a coronavirus outbreak does occur.

Campuses are also recommended to keep students to small groups throughout the day and to prevent them from interacting with students outside the group as much as possible, the guidelines stated.

The state also eliminated the requirement for schools to phase-in reopening. Rather than have a gradual transition where grades are allowed back in one at a time, schools can now allow for all grades to return at once, according to the updated plan.