ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — Schools are scheduled to welcome students back next month and St. Louis County schools are working on a plan on how they will navigate reopening.
Public school districts and many private schools have been working with the county health department to develop general guidelines for reopening, St. Louis County Executive Sam Page said during his briefing Monday morning. Schools will communicate the plans directly to parents and caregivers.
"I think it's important to get some sort of traditional learning environment in place and have a pathway to move forward in a way that's safe," Page said. "There will be unique situations for each school district. But the guidelines, in general, will be extraordinarily similar."
Page said he wanted the schools to outline specifics, but he noted that parents should expect to see social distancing procedures and mask protocols that are in line with the guidelines at public places and businesses all over the county.
"All these things are the same principles that we've applied to businesses, to banquet centers, to other activities in our community," Page said. "And those will be applied to school and then adapted for all the activities that we find at schools."
Schools also will have processes in place on how to handle the possible closures due to outbreaks or individual cases.
There will be additional guidance for student athletics and transportation.
Many school districts in the area closed their buildings in March and continued school lessons online through the end of the school year.
Editor's note: A previous version of this story cited Page's comments that the schools will release reopening plans on Tuesday, July 7. However, several school districts have reached out to 5 On Your Side and said guidelines will be released later this month.
