OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — Parents and teachers in Kansas have been waiting for answers about the upcoming school year, and now they have answers.
On Wednesday, Gov. Laura Kelly announced in-person learning would be delayed until after Labor Day.
“I’m announcing now that I will be issuing an executive order next Monday to delay the opening of schools until after the Labor Day holiday,” Kelly said at a news conference.
Teachers will not see their students in the classroom before Sept. 7. Kelly said the delay will allow school districts to get hand sanitizer, masks and thermometers.
The Kansas State Board of Education released its "Navigating Change" document Tuesday as a recommendation for Kansas school districts. Kelly said Wednesday that plans in the document for in-person, hybrid and remote learning will be mandated.
“I will also issue an executive order to make those common sense mitigation strategies that are in the board's plan mandatory, because we have already seen what happens when guidelines are voluntary,” Kelly said, referencing a statewide mask mandate that many counties in the state chose not to implement.
41 Action News spoke with parents about the governor's decision to delay the start of school. Angela Handy said she was hopeful her four children would be back in the classroom in August.
“If my kids have to wear a mask to get into that building, let’s do it. If they need to wash their hands every hour, let’s do it,” Handy said.
While some parents felt comfortable sending their kids back to school, others weren’t set on the idea and are pleased with Kelly's decision.
“I think when we get down to like what’s the smart, safe thing to do, I don’t think it’s going back Monday through Friday into the class,” Angie DalBello said.
Even with guidelines in place, parents like DalBello said they didn’t feel in-person classes were a risk worth taking at this time.
“Why did we all shelter in place, why did all these business, why are they going to go out of business because they had to close down and they weren’t able to make it, if now we’re just going to throw it all away and just boom, go back to school,” DalBelo said.
Kelly said she could not reopen schools when Kansas has a number of hot spots where cases are at an all-time high. She plans to issue the executive order on Monday.
