During a press conference on Thursday, March 25, Governor Jay Inslee announced that the Washington State Department of Health has officially adopted the CDC’s revised social distancing guidance for schools, which allows for three feet of physical distance between students in classrooms, down from six feet.
The revised guidance does not apply to periods when masks cannot be worn (such as during lunch), nor does it apply to common areas, to adults in the classroom, or during activities when increased exhalation occurs (sports, band, etc.).
"We know our children have been experiencing tremendous mental health challenges and disturbances, [and] the more children we get back in the classroom, the better," said Inslee. "This is a major step forward in our continuing effort to help our students get their feet under them, deal with these mental health challenges and see the magic that happens between tremendous educators that we have in our state [and] these students."
With the new social distancing guidance comes the potential to schedule more in-person opportunities for middle and high school students. District leaders are currently studying the changes and plan to provide an update to families shortly after Spring Break.