Ontario reveals plan for reopening schools in September

Ontario has revealed its reopening plan for the 2021-2022 school year.

The province released its “Guide to Reopening Schools” late Tuesday afternoon.

It includes details regarding cohorts, masking, and plans to go remote should another shutdown be required.

The guide says students will attend in-person learning daily for the full school day in elementary and secondary schools across the province. Remote learning will also be available for parents who choose to keep their kids at home.

Students in Grades 1 to 12 will be required to wear masks while indoors, including in hallways and on buses. They can be removed while actively eating or participating in low-contact physical activity, like gym class.

The province says students in kindergarten are encouraged but not required to wear a mask.

Students will stay in cohorted classes but will be able to mix with other cohorts for outdoor recess. They will also be able to use shared materials like toys, books, and computers because the risk associated with transmission from shared objects is low.

The province says students are expected to bring their own masks but non-medical 3-ply masks will be made available if needed. School boards will also continue to provide PPE to staff.

The guide says school assemblies, gatherings, day trips, and overnight stays are now permitted as long as safety guidelines are followed.

Clubs, activities, sports teams, bands (without wind instruments), and extra-curriculars will be allowed with physical distancing encouraged.

Here is a breakdown of the new guidelines for students this fall.

Elementary schools

• Students in kindergarten through Grade 8 will attend school five days per week.
• Cohorted classes will stay together and with one teacher, where possible.
• Students may be placed into small groups with students from other cohorts if attending programs like special education support or English-language learning.
• Students may use common spaces including cafeterias and libraries.
• Students from different cohorts can interact outside with distancing encouraged or inside with distancing and masking.
• Specialized education staff and teachers, such as French teachers, and education support staff are permitted to go into classrooms, and attend multiple schools.

Secondary schools

• Students in Grade 9 through 12 will attend daily in-person learning five days per week.
• For the fall semester, students will take no more than two courses at a time in order to preserve the option of reverting to more restrictive measures, if needed.
• Some school boards may implement an alternating week or “modifed semester” model (Week 1: Course A/Course B, Week 2: Course C/Course D), with support from their local health unit.
• Exceptions may be made for small schools where contacts can be limited by cohorting grades.

Remote learning

• School boards will be required to provide students learning remotely with 300 minutes of learning opportunities, with a combination of synchronous and asynchronous activities.
• A daily schedule or timetable must be provided.
• Teachers must be available to students at all times during the teachers’ assigned teaching timetables, as they would be if they were face-to-face in a classroom setting.
• Synchronous learning time requirements are as follows: Kindergarten – 180 minutes, Grades 1 to 8 — 225 minutes, Grades 9 to 12 — the higher of 60 minutes for each 75-minute class period or 225 minutes per day for a full course schedule.

The province says all staff and students must self-screen every day before attending school.

Officials say school boards may require proof of completed self-screening during periods of potential higher transmission, for example after a holiday.

The province says the reopening guide will be re-evaluated regularly and, where required, updated based on public health advice.

The ministry is encouraging school boards and schools to continue to work closely with their local public health units on their reopening plans and throughout the school year.