DESE denies Boston's Curley K-8 School's remote learning waiver request after COVID-19 spike
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has denied a waiver request filed by a Boston school after it made the decision to close to in-person learning after a spike of COVID-19 cases.
The Curley K-8 School in Boston's Jamaica Plain neighborhood said on Tuesday it would close for 10 days, which includes seven school days, from Nov. 10 and reopen Nov. 22.
During a virtual community hearing Tuesday, Boston Public Schools Superintendent Brenda Cassellius said that since Oct. 22, there have been nearly four dozen confirmed COVID-19 cases among Curley's students and staff across 21 classrooms in the school.
On Friday, DESE announced it had denied Curley's full waiver request, saying, "in the case of the Curley, a decision to close took place without appropriate consultation with DESE."
"I am particularly concerned that remote learning will not fully meet the academic and social emotional needs of our students, especially students with disabilities, English learners, and other vulnerable students," DESE Commissioner Jeffrey Riley said in his denial.
DESE did, however, say it would allow Curley four days to get a reentry plan in place, including the following steps:
- Complete contact tracing efforts at the Curley to identify true close contacts
- Create an appropriate plan for these close contacts in accordance with DESE and Department of Public Health protocols
- Set up a testing program beginning Nov. 14 to prepare for reentry
"This limited waiver of four school days will allow remote learning at the Curley provided on Wednesday, Nov. 10; Friday, Nov. 12; Monday, Nov. 15; and Tuesday, Nov. 16 to count towards the required 180 days of structured learning time," Riley's letter said.
"This morning, we received the Commissioner’s response to partially approve the request for remote learning and are reviewing our options and next steps on his request to return students sooner than the 10 days the Boston Public Health Commission advised. We will make a decision in partnership with the Boston Public Health Commission, always with the top priority of keeping our students, staff, families and Boston community healthy and safe," the district said in statement.
Massachusetts state officials said in the spring that remote learning would no longer count toward required learning hours unless a waiver is granted. Any remote school days not granted by a waiver must be made up by students and teachers and the end of the year, similar to snow days.