'A Little Bit More Time' | RI School Opening Delayed 2 Weeks

PROVIDENCE, RI — Rhode Island schools will reopen two weeks later than initially planned, Gov. Gina Raimondo explained Wednesday.

"We're not going to open schools until their safe," Raimondo said. "I know there is so much anxiety right now among parents ... It is the right thing to get these kids into school. It is also the right thing to make sure schools have the systems in place to make sure students and teachers are safe."

The Rhode Island Department of Education made the decision to reopen schools Sept. 14 instead of Aug. 31 after district leaders said they would prefer more time to prepare for an in-person return to class, including addressing issues of busing, sanitation, masking and more.

"Why are we doing this? We're doing this because it gives schools a little more time to be ready," Raimondo said, saying Rhode Island's experience will not be similar to other states such as Georgia, which have seen crowding and a lack of mask-wearing in schools.

As a result of the delay, the final decision about what model Rhode Island will use — mostly in-person, hybrid, or complete distance learning — is now expected the week of Aug. 31, instead of Aug. 16.

"I have come to the view that a little more time will allow us to be ready with our testing, with our transportation, with our cleaning, to send the kids back to school.," the governor continued.

To safely resume mostly in-person classes, the state will need to meet five key metrics: statewide readiness, municipal readiness, testing readiness, supply readiness and operational readiness. To help meet these metrics, the state has already acquired eight rapid testing machines, and is working to get more to have the ability to quickly test teachers or students who report feeling unwell during the school day. In addition, schools will not be allowed to return with a mostly in-person approach if the community has greater than 100 coronavirus cases per 100,000 people.

To help make sure the state is in a good place to get back to school in person, Raimondo urged Rhode Islanders to be extra careful in the coming weeks: wearing a mask, keeping social interactions limited to stable 15-person groups, avoiding crowds and maintaining social distance whenever possible.

Patch editor Scott Souza contributed to this report.