Kane County regional education superintendent: CDC’s continued recommendation of 6-feet social distance complicates districts’ plans for return to full in-person school

KANE COUNTY – Many parents across Kane County have been vocal about wanting their kids back in school five days a week.

But that may not be possible, especially for older students, after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention kept the 6-feet social distance recommendation in its recent school opening guidelines released earlier this month.

According to Kane County Regional Office of Education Superintendent Pat Dal Santo, districts should continue to follow the CDC guidelines, which include proper mask-wearing and 6 feet of separation between students. She said that makes it nearly impossible for most districts to bring everyone back every day because the classrooms don’t have enough space.

“We can’t fit all the students in the middle schools and high schools [every day], and I think [districts] need to follow the science, and as long as the science says [6-feet social distance] it is what we need to do, then it remains. If the science changes, then [we can change],” she said. “And things will change. We’re learning more about COVID and people are getting vaccinated, but what we’ve done has been effective and has lowered the rate. That doesn’t mean we don’t continue to follow the guidelines because following the guidelines has gotten us here.”

Some parents have asked districts to consider reducing the social distance to 3 feet instead of 6 feet, but Dal Santo said that could put districts in a bad situation if a school had a COVID-19 outbreak.

“Districts could deviate from the CDC,” she explained. “Districts can do whatever they want, but they need to look at the liability aspect. If a school has an outbreak and if they’re not following the public health guidelines, insurance might not cover them. This is a public health crisis. I don’t understand why you wouldn’t follow the guidance of the health experts. We’re educators, not experts in public health.”

Dal Santo said that the Illinois Department of Public Health hasn’t yet commented on the CDC school reopening guidelines, but she expects them to soon. She said that the IDPH and the Kane County Health Department usually stay in lock-step with the CDC.

“Why are cases lower? Why are [schools] not having outbreaks? It’s because we’re following guidelines,” she said. “By following the guidelines, our incident rate has been lower, so why would we stop following them if they’re working? Until we get different guidance from public health experts, it’s in our best interest to follow that guidance. It’s in our communites’ best interest to follow that guidance.”

If public health guidance changes, it could make things easier for districts to bring back all students, Dal Santo said. But until then, she said, it most likely won’t be possible.

“If the guidance changes, or says we can have plexiglass shields on desks, then we can bring them all back – but with the 6-feet-distance guideline, we can’t do it,” she said. “We just don’t have the space. If there is a school that does have the space, then more power to them.”

Despite the constraints, Dal Santo said that teachers want all the kids to be back in the classrooms, as she believes that students need to attend school in-person.

“This is one of the hardest things [teachers] have had to do, and there isn’t an educator in Kane County who doesn’t want the kids back,” she explained. “At least with the hybrid model, we can get some of the kids in school some of the time.”

As schools begin to look ahead to next year, Dal Santo said that she continues to work with public health experts to let them know that the sooner they can provide guidance, the easier it will be for the districts to plan.

“I wish I had an idea of when all the kids will be back. It’s all up in the air for next fall,” she said. “We are relaying to health officials that planning takes time, and the sooner they can let us know if there is an option for full in-person, the better the schools will be. If we can have some benchmarks, like if we can go to 3 feet of distance, then we can make plans based on those benchmarks.”

Dal Santo understands the frustration many parents feel and knows that getting kids back to the classrooms full-time has been a “very polarizing issue.”

But she explained that a number of parents don’t want to go back because they’re still worried about the virus.

“If we brought everybody back, you’d hear from the same number of parents who aren’t ready to come back yet. I think we have to follow the guidelines and be patient,” she said. “I respect all opinions and how parents are advocating for their kids the best they can, but at the same time, the school districts have to follow public health experts. I understand the passion, but to ignore the science would be irresponsible. And the science says 6 feet of distance.”