Tri-Cities students to return to full-time school after spring break. Inslee OKs 3-foot rule

Tri-Cities students will return to school following spring break.

Gov. Jay Inslee signed off on decreasing the required space between students to 3 feet. It’s a change that Tri-Cities school administrators and school board members hoped would be announced this week and started planning for.

The governor’s order allows for schools to make the change immediately.

It followed a recommendation last week from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention to reduce spacing to a 3-foot distance between students.

Tri-City school districts needed the shift because the previous requirement of 6 feet meant not all students could fit in classrooms at once.

Pasco school leaders want elementary students to come back for full-time instruction by April 12 and middle and high school students on April 19.

Richland leaders set April 19 as the return date for all students, and Kennewick plans to bring students back after mid-April.

And the Finley School District announced Thursday afternoon it is moving forward with plans to return all students to in-person learning in mid-April.

While students will be back in classes full-time, it won’t be a return to normal.

Still restrictions

The governor’s change still calls for students to wear masks, and they will need to remain 6-feet apart at lunch and during activities such as band, choir or when they’re in common areas.

Also some questions remain for administrators, including middle and high school students will stay with the same group the entire day.

The school board’s decisions to move forward have been met by mixed reactions from parents.

Some are excited to return students for full days of learning after more than a year of having them online during the COVID pandemic. Others are concerned this will disrupt children who are doing well online and create more problems.

Kennewick and Pasco administrators said they are working with the unions on making the changes. It’s unclear what the status is of talks with Richland teachers.

Pasco teachers want to return to normal routines and have students back in school every day, according to a statement from the Pasco Association of Educators.

“We all want that to happen at the earliest possible time that it can be done safely and in accordance with the requirements of the state and with recognition of the disproportionate impact the pandemic has had in communities of color,” the statement said.

“Any changes in our safety protocols or instructional models must be made in partnership with PAE and centering the voices of the most impacted communities,” it said.

Kennewick leaders already had negotiated a return for middle and high school students to full-time for two days a week.

Superintendent Traci Pierce said they were still working on the details, including buying more chairs for lunchrooms and negotiating the change with the Kennewick union.

Kennewick Education Association President Rob Woodford said they plan to continue to work with the district on maintaining a safe environment while expanding access for students.

He praised the school board’s decision to wait for the governor and the state to issue their guidance

“Taking the time to do the work correctly is a much better idea than rushing in and having to pull back,” he said. “All of us have seen enough change in the past year to know the best path is better planning and follow-through.”

This story was originally published March 26, 2021 at 5:00 AM.