State Superintendent Says Schools Will Be Open This Fall

MONTGOMERY, AL — State superintendent of education Dr. Eric Mackey announced Friday that schools in Alabama will open as planned for the coming school year, but the look and feel of the schools in Alabama will be different as COVID-19 cases in the state continue to spread.

"This will be the most difficult school year we gave ever faced," Mackey said. "But we are determined to do it because there are students who are counting on us. And we will."

Mackey said all campuses will reopen for in person instruction, and the plan is to keep them open for the duration of the school year. "We cannot predict the year, but our expectation is to stay open," he said. However, individual boards will decide on each campus' status throughout the year he added.

The Alabama State Department of Education released a "Roadmap for Reopening Schools" that Mackey outlined Friday.

Mackey said remote learning options are available for any parents who do not feel comfortable sending their children to school amid the pandemic. He said a poll of Alabama school children parents showed approximately 15 percent of parents did not feel comfortable sending their kids to school this fall.

He said the state has $18 million allocated to support students during the pandemic, and the department has used most of that on remote learning resources.

"I know from personal experience putting a 16-year-old on remote learning versus a 6-year-old on remote learning is very different, and we recognize that," Mackey said. "Every school is going to look different. What we do in a rural community will not look like what we do in a larger city."

State health director Dr. Scott Harris said social distancing protocols will be in place for school districts throughout the state, as COVID-19 cases continue to rise in Alabama. And schools can close or open based on individual circumstances.

"Smaller groups are better than large groups so when that's possible, we're going to encourage that," Harris said. "Spreading farther apart is better than close together and we're going to encourage that. There will almost certainly be positive cases in schools, and we're prepared to contact trace, that's our responsibility not the schools'."

Extracurricular activities, such as athletics or choral programs, will look different, Mackey said. For football this fall, many changes will be made to minimize the risk of transmission of COVID-19, including extending the players box on the sidelines, and limiting the people who are allowed on the sidelines to players, coaches and trainers.

Visiting schools and their fans at sporting events will have to follow whatever local rules are in place regarding face coverings and other precautions.

"The decisions we make every day will determine how this is going to work out," Harris said. "I encourage everyone to practice social distancing and to make good decisions every time you leave your house."