KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Lee’s Summit R-7 School District will only allow pre-kindergarten through third-grade students to attend class in person when the 2020-21 school year begins Sept. 8.
The district’s Board of Education voted 5-2 on Tuesday for a back-to-school plan that has fourth through 12th-grade beginning the school year with online learning.
Students in special programs, such as Communication Language and Social skills, Elementary and Secondary Social Emotional Behavioral Program and the Medically Fragile Program, will also be able to attend in-person classes "as appropriate," according to a news release. English Language Learners and some career and technical education classes also will be able to have in-person instruction.
Superintendent David Buck supported the arrangement.
The average number of students per class for pre-K through third grade is 18, though one class has 21 students.
Buck said he would prefer that parents drive their children to school to help maintain social distancing on a school bus, which will only be allowed to have eight students per bus.
R-7 school officials meet weekly with Jackson County Health Department officials. Together, they review new COVID-19 data as it is released every two weeks.
If the number of cases decreases and the positivity rate drops enough, Buck said that he wants to have students return to in-person instruction.
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