The Minnesota State Health Department has updated its recommendations for the start to the school year based on COVID rates in each of Minnesota's counties.
Right now, 11 counties spaced throughout the state have seen their recommendation downgraded to include more remote learning due to those case ratios.
Much of the state is recommended to start school with a combination of in-person and remote instruction. 51 counties outside the metro have a recommendation for in-person learning for all students, while schools in the metro area are all hybrid at this time.
Hennepin, Ramsey, Dakota and Scott Counties, with Minnesota's highest populations, are full hybrid at this time. The state plans to reevaluate the recommendations throughout the school year. There are currently no Minnesota counties that will require all students to be remote. You can see each county listing with the number of cases here.
RELATED: Minnesota School plans must include distance-learning option.
According to Minnesota's Safe Learning Plan, each county's data can lead to five different school models.
- 0-9 cases per 10,000: In-person learning for all students
- 10-19 cases per 10,000: In-person learning for elementary students, hybrid learning for secondary students
- 20-29 cases per 10,000: Hybrid learning for all students
- 30-49 cases per 10,000: Hybrid learning for elementary students, distance learning for secondary students
- 50 or more cases per 10,000: Distance learning for all students
According to the Department of Eduacation, "Experts at the Departments of Education and Health will partner with local school districts and charter schools to help make decisions about which learning model they should use to start the school year. While there are many factors to take into consideration when determining an appropriate learning model for school opening, the decision-making process will center on local data indicating the level of viral activity in the surrounding county."
