Gov. Andy Beshear issues executive order about schools reopening in-person learning

As the state seeks to reach its goal to vaccinate all Kentucky teachers, Gov. Andy Beshear announced Tuesday he has issued an executive order recommending Kentucky school districts offer or expand in-person instruction by March 1 or a week after employees are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Beshear said it is important for there to be local decision making in this process. He added some school districts are opting for a 14-day waiting period after teachers are vaccinated before resuming in-person classes.

Most of Kentucky’s school districts are currently offering some form of in-person learning with new protocols and protections. Only six districts in the state are not doing any in-person classes.

Under the recommendation, all school staff, educators and students must continue to wear face masks and asks districts to consider density reduction measures for classrooms, evaluate a school building’s ventilation system, provide meaningful virtual options, and regularly review incident maps in planning school activities to reduce risk of transmission.

“We all know we need some form of in-person learning. Its got to be safe which has to include a lot of people deciding what it will look like but we believe post-second dose we are moving and must move in that direction,” Beshear said.