PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — As the School District of Philadelphia plans for a full in-person return of students in the fall, it is unclear whether extra COVID-19 precautions will be required in classrooms.
There are transparent plastic dividers on desks in the lower grades right now, as students have returned to Philadelphia classrooms two days a week on a hybrid schedule. Superintendent William Hite could not say definitively on Thursday if more would be necessary.
"I guess the best answer to that is: We don’t know, based on the current recommendations of the CDC," Hite said. "If the recommendations are for dividers or social distancing or masks or all of the above or ventilation, we plan to have all of those things in place. But if they’re not recommended, then it’s not likely those will be things that people will see in place."
Hite said masks will be required for summer school programs. This district is planning to require students to wear masks in the fall.