CONCORD — Before schools reopen, districts need full staffing and funding, a phased reopening plan, and health and safety agreements for staff and students, New Hampshire’s largest teachers union said in a series of steps it released Wednesday.
The steps, released a little over a week after the state released its own guidance for districts, also include modifications on state regulations related to learning time, renewing teaching licenses and workers’ compensation benefits, as well as requirements for staff assignments and learning arrangements, and computers and internet access for all.
“If, after working together with the district, it is determined these requirements will not be met, students and staff must return to remote instruction until their school can be made safe,” Megan Tuttle, NEA-NH president, said in a statement.
The phased reopening step, for example, supports at least three days of professional development for educators to set up in-person or virtual classrooms and receive training on health and safety protocols; meet students and families over two to four days in person or remotely; and then use the first six weeks of instruction to build relationships.
“During this time, expectations and rules will be set, new structures and routines will be learned, and the groundwork will be laid for Social Emotional Learning and academic learning throughout the year,” according to the document. An assessment of public health data and educational progress would be made six to eight weeks after school starts.
A spokesperson from the Education Department declined to comment on the document.
Tuttle had criticized the state’s guidelines, saying they did very little to keep students and staff safe from the coronavirus.
The state is leaving it up to each school district to decide whether to fully return to the classroom, continue with remote learning or develop hybrid models that combine elements of both.
The guidance released by Gov. Chris Sununu outlines recommendations for screening, social distancing, hygiene and other safety measures aimed at preventing further spread of the virus, but includes very few mandates.
Sununu has emphasized the need to provide flexibility for districts that face different challenges and levels of risk.
On Tuesday, Frank Edelblut, New Hampshire education commissioner, said he doesn’t think the state will need to go back to a statewide remote learning model.
But with the severity of the coronavirus still in flux, it could still happen on an individual school level.
Other coronavirus-related developments in New Hampshire:
School bus drivers can’t be “mask police,” the president of the New Hampshire School Transportation Association told state lawmakers.
“They need to focus on their driving, keep their eyes on the road,” Mark Raposo said Tuesday, New Hampshire Public Radio reported.
Raposo said as school districts plan for the fall during the coronavirus pandemic, additional staff may be necessary to monitor students on the bus and help with sanitation between runs.
BURLINGTON — The University of Vermont’s faculty union and the school administration on Wednesday agreed to settle a dispute related to fall reopening plans.
United Academics said it filed an unfair labor practice against UVM on June 30.
“The stipulated settlement states that the administration must continue to bargain in good faith and in a timely manner with the union,” United Academics said in a written statement.
UVM said in a statement that it’s pleased to engage with the union on topics that impact faculty working conditions, though faculty have been participating in the work that an advisory committee has been doing on the reopening plans long before the union filed its claim. The president and vice president of the Faculty Senate are members of working groups doing the planning, along with six other Faculty Senate representatives, and all are union members, the school said.
Wednesday’s agreement will enable United Academics to invite one more member on each of the UVMStrong committees, UVM said.
“We are confident that the UVMStrong strategies that we have outlined — including testing and quarantine requirements, mask-wearing, density and distancing measures and multiple instruction modalities — will enable UVM to offer a high-quality education in a safe and productive work setting for faculty and staff,” the school said.
United Academics represents more than 800 full and part-time faculty at UVM.
The San Diego company that makes the virus testing equipment used by a Manchester clinic that reported almost 60 positive cases of the virus that causes COVID-19 that were not confirmed by follow-up tests by the Vermont Health Department is going to have a representative in Manchester this week to investigate.
“The clinic believes that their positive test results are accurate,” said Jeannine Sharp Mason, the director of marketing for Quidel Corp. “At this time, there is nothing to indicate a failure of the Quidel test system.”
On Tuesday, Vermont Health Department said 80% of the 65 patients who tested positive for the virus after taking an antigen test have been re-tested and only four were confirmed positive.
“We don’t want to get ahead of the facts in Manchester, but we will work tirelessly with authorities there to determine the truth and respond accordingly,” Mason said.