KANSAS CITY, Mo. — After two hours of public comments Thursday, mostly filled with parents pleading for the district to allow fall sports and in-person classes, the Olathe Public Schools Board of Education will allow fall sports and activities.
Olathe announced Aug. 19 that it would largely follow the Johnson County Department of Health and Environment’s gating criteria for school reopening, making decisions about fall activities and sports on a weekly basis.
The district suspended athletic practice last week, but sports were allowed to resume Monday.
Now, the board voted 5-2 to allow fall sports — at the high school level only — with restrictions, but it will no longer be decided week to week.
Olathe schools will only be allowed to play conference games and football players, the only sport considered high-risk during the fall, will be required to enroll in remote learning for the duration of the season.
Even if Olathe moves to a hybrid or in-person learning environment, football players will be required to attend classes remotely and quarantine for two weeks after the season ends or test negative for COVID-19.
Capacity at athletic venues will be restricted and fans in attendance at games will be required to wear masks and socially distance from people who reside in other households.
Middle school athletics remain canceled unless and until classes resume in-person, which won't happen until late September at the earliest.
While some other Sunflower League schools also are playing fall sports, scheduling for football could be tricky after Mill Valley and the Lawrence schools pivoted and rescheduled games amid uncertainty surrounding Olathe and Shawnee Mission athletics.
Mill Valley, which joined the Sunflower League beginning in 2020-21, and also is allowing fall sports, while Gardner-Edgerton is following state guidance that currently permits athletics.
Meanwhile, Lawrence USD 497 — which is periodically reviewing community data, like the Johnson County schools, to determine how to proceed — announced last Friday that fall sports could continue through at least Sept. 10.
USD 497 administration will allow athletic teams/activities to compete for the next two weeks. The district will evaluate public health data September 10. The number of new COVID-19 cases declined Thursday and Friday. The district wants to see if the KU testing spike drops.
— Lawrence USD 497 (@usd497) August 28, 2020
That decision is up for review next week, but Lawrence/Douglas County Public Health issued a new public order related to bars and restaurants Thursday amid a surge in cases.
But not all Sunflower League schools have given activities and athletics the green light.
The Shawnee Mission School District, which is also part of the Sunflower League, postponed fall sports in accordance with the county’s gating criteria for school reopening.
Four SM East golfers and one from Blue Valley, which competes in the Eastern Kansas League, filed a lawsuit, arguing girls golf should be allowed to continue this fall.
