Plan waives school days, ensures workers are fully compensated

State Rep. Bradley Slagh today announced the Legislature has reached a bipartisan agreement with the governor regarding education response in the wake of school closures brought on by coronavirus.

The agreement closes all public and private school buildings for the remainder of the 2019-20 school year unless they are later deemed safe. It also forgives 15 days of instruction beyond the nine snow days currently allowed under state law. School districts are required to use resources from days that have been waived to ensure all hourly and contracted employees are fully compensated.

“Closing our schools was a tough call, but we believe it ultimately has and will save lives,” said Slagh, of Zeeland. “The unfortunate side effect is the learning loss which hurts our children. With the help of teachers and parents who commit to implementing at-home instruction, we can avoid further deficits.”

To allow for home-learning options, school districts are granted a waiver from requiring students to be physically in their school buildings. Education plans should try to address the needs of all students including special education and students who lack access to technology.

“I see parents and educators throughout our community coming up with creative educational opportunities for their kids at home. It’s really something,” Slagh said. “I’m so thankful for their dedication and I have great confidence that they will continue to help our children succeed over the next several weeks and for the summer.”

Slagh also said school districts will be allowed to begin the 2020-2021 school year in August, prior to the Sept. 7 Labor Day holiday, to quickly ramp up for a new year making up for the time out of school this year.

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