Inslee Signs Emergency Proclamation Bringing Back In-Person Class

OLYMPIA, WA - Gov. Jay Inslee has signed an emergency proclamation ordering all K-12 schools across the state to reopen for in-person instruction.

"After one year of the closure of our schools, the time has come for every child in the state of Washington to have access to onsite instruction," Inslee said at a conference Friday announcing the proclamation. "We are now taking action to make sure that every child has that option available to them."

During his announcement, Inslee argued that the year without in-person instruction has taken a significant toll on students, teachers and families, and that the flattened transmission rate would now allow students to safely return.

"We are doing this because we have experienced a mental health crisis for many of our children, and this will provide them an option that suits their needs," Inslee said.

The governor was joined by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal, who stressed the importance of in-person learning, and celebrated schools that have already adopted in-person learning models.

"The human contact necessary for young people to fully develop both academically and socially, emotionally is amazing, and the energy that is out there is inspiring," Reykdal said. "We've got to do better, we've got to do more, and we've got to make it ubiquitous, the entire system of public education needs to be accessible for students."

More than half of Washington's schools have already returned for some form of in-person learning, but the governor's proclamation provides that option for the hundreds of thousands more students in districts that had not.

According to the governor, the proclamation would "prohibit" schools from refusing to return to an in-person model. However, it doesn't require them to return to a regular, 5-day schedule either. Instead, schools are given the option to use a hybrid model, bringing students back into the classroom in groups that come to school on alternating days.

Under the new guidance, these hybrid models must have students in the classroom for at least 30% of the time they would have been during a regular school year. It also requires that those students be in schools at least two days per week, even if they are just partial school days.

Schools have been given some time to prepare. By April 5, all schools must have an in-person hybrid option for students in grades K-6. By April 19, they'll have to be ready for all students K-12.

The governor did note that the schools will still be limited by some safety guidelines, requiring smaller class sizes for social distancing, plus masking requirements and other restrictions.

"We know we can do this safely, and we're confident in our ability to do that," Inslee said.

Earlier this month, Washington restructured its vaccine distribution plan, making teachers eligible for the vaccine - another reason the governor says schools should feel confident returning to the classroom.

Finally, Inslee capped off the conference touching on concerns of mental health. The recently-passed $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief plan will be sending $2.6 billion to Washington. As part of the governor's emergency proclamation, the state health care authority has been instructed to study the behavioral health needs of students, and create new recommendations on how to use some of that relief funding to tackle those issues.

"This will help us address and triage the full spectrum of rising pediatric behavioral health needs," Inslee said.