COVID-19: MN Dept. Of Education Releases Guidance For Fall 2020

TWIN CITIES, MN — The Minnesota Department of Education and the Minnesota Department of Health Thursday released guidance to help Minnesota’s public schools plan for the 2020-21 school year amid the coronavirus crisis.

The guidance includes a strong recommendation that school districts and charter schools create three different contingency plans for all three possible scenarios for start of the school year this fall.

MDE is urging school leaders to plan for all three scenarios so that school communities can be flexible and students can receive continuous education in the event that the COVID-19 pandemic may require schools to shift to a different educational delivery model.

The three scenarios are:

• In-person learning for all students
• Hybrid learning with strict social distance and capacity limits
• Distance learning only

Health officials will announce a decision for which model of educational delivery will be in the best for the 2020-21 school year by the week of July 27.

"As we look ahead to the next school year, the health and safety of our students will continue to be our number one priority," said Minnesota Department of Education Deputy Commissioner Heather Mueller in a news release.

"We are learning more about COVID-19 every day, but we still can’t be sure about exactly how the pandemic will play out over the coming months," Commissioner of Health Jan Malcolm said. "Until a vaccine is developed COVID-19 is likely to remain a serious concern, and we must be prepared for a variety of scenarios."

Read the MDH guidance below: