Education

In order to plan for how many students will take available learning options, districts push for families to enroll their children as soon as they can.

From delaying start dates to what happens with schools if any students get sick with COVID-19, decision time arrives for school districts across Kansas.

As school districts across Kansas submit plans for their local school boards to consider, projected start dates differ with some sticking to a recommendation from Kansas Governor Laura Kelly to start after Labor Day and others opting to start earlier.

As parents consider the choices best for their children, Eyewitness News takes a closer look at what in-person instruction likely will look like in Wichita.

Kansas’ top health official and the Secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment said the state is headed in the wrong direction when it comes to COVID-19 numbers.

In northwest Kansas, about a four-hour drive from Wichita, Rawlins and Wallace counties have a combined population of about 4,000 people. As of Thursday (July 23), the two counties are also the last in Kansas without at least one confirmed case of COVID-19. This is one reason Wallace County School District (USD 241) Superintendent Bruce Bolen is happy the decision on when to start school is left up to individual districts.

Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt said Thursday that he believes both counties and local school districts can exempt themselves from Gov. Laura Kelly’s coronavirus-inspired order requiring schools to have staff and students wear masks.

The Andover school board Wednesday night talked through concerns and questions ahead of making a final plan for the school year ahead.

While Wichita Public Schools hasn’t yet made its start-date decision, Wichita Collegiate School, a private school from the preschool through high school level said it plans for students to return to its campus on Aug. 19.

The Wichita School Board voted Thursday to delay the start of the school year until after Labor Day.

Despite a split vote from the Kansas State Board of Education rejecting Governor Laura Kelly’s order to delay reopening schools, two of the state’s biggest districts are taking the option to hold off starting the 2020-2021 school year until Sept. 9, after Labor Day.

The Kansas Board of Education will meet Wednesday morning to decide whether to delay the start of the school year.

More than half of the COVID-19 cases diagnosed in Sedgwick County are now in people younger than 40 and with the school year around the corner, a new study out of South Korea seeks to provide more details about the spread of COVID-19 among teens.

As Kansas schools prepare to reopen for the fall of 2020, all of them have been working on how students and staff can safely return to the classroom.

Goddard Board of Education hears possible re-opening procedures from Goddard Superintendent Dr. Henry.

Governor Laura Kelly's executive order requiring masks for all students, faculty, staff, and visitors at public and private K-12 schools doesn't follow the recommendations from the Kansas COVID Workgroup for Kids, a guide endorsed by Kansas pediatricians.

School districts across Kansas continue to work toward plans for education this fall as they wait for a final decision from the state board of education on when the first day of school can happen. Monday, Derby Public Schools released a draft of its return-to-school plan which was discussed at Monday night’s school board meeting.

Gov. Laura Kelly announced Monday she would await a vote from the Kansas Board of Education to sign an executive order to delay reopening Kansas schools until after Labor Day.

Some Wichita Public Schools teachers gathered Monday, voicing concerns about the upcoming school year. Many say it’s not safe to teach in the classroom with the number of active COVID-19 cases in Sedgwick County. As of Monday, the county reported 1,671 active cases.

Gov. Laura Kelly released more details Monday on the executive orders she has signed and plans to sign regarding schools reopening for the 2020-2021 school year.

Kansas’ Republican-controlled state school board is facing pressure from conservatives to scuttle Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s plan to delay the reopening of K-12 schools, even as a resurgence in coronavirus cases intensifies. The 10-member State Board of Education can block Kelly’s plan under a law enacted last month.

The Wichita Public Schools Board of Education met Thursday afternoon, reviewing potential plans regarding the health and safety of students and teachers in the upcoming school year.

As parents continue trying to figure out what to expect with the upcoming school year, some parents are considering alternative education options for their children. While homeschooling is a growing interest to some parents due to the risk of COVID-19, they may not have the resources or time for it.

As the break from school lengthens with a later fall start date, parents look to get kids back into a structured learning environment.

Former Wichita teacher moves to homeschool due to COVID concerns.

After Kansas Governor Laura Kelly Wednesday announced her plan to issue an executive order pushing back the start of the 2020-21 school year until after Labor Day, several teachers said it’s a step in the right direction, but they still don’t feel comfortable returning to a full classroom until there is a vaccine for COVID-19.

After Kansas Governor Laura Kelly on Wednesday announced plans to issue an executive order delaying school start dates past Labor Day, it is now up to individual districts in the state to come up with their own plans for fall.

The Kansas State Department of Education released a draft of its recommendations for schools to reopen in the fall.

The University of Kansas says it will test for COVID-19 all students, faculty and staff who return to campus for the fall semester.

Wichita Public Schools released more details Wednesday on how it expects to ease into the upcoming school year.