OLATHE, Kan. — The Johnson County Department of Health and Environment announced Tuesday that, based on gating criteria established last month, Johnson County is in the “red zone.”
That means, if school districts follow the health department’s guidance, only elementary students would return to classrooms next month. Middle and high school students would begin the year with remote-only learning.
Extracurricular activities at all grade levels would be remote only as well.
But the six public school districts in Johnson County will be able to use the health department’s recommendations to make their own decisions on the return to school and learning modes. They are not required to follow the zones.
All six districts — Blue Valley, De Soto, Gardner Edgerton, Olathe, Shawnee Mission and Spring Hill — have already decided to delay classes until after Labor Day.
Administrators in the DeSoto and the Shawnee Mission school districts announced Tuesday they will begin classes virtually for all grade levels, a slight shift from health officials’ recommendation.
The news of Johnson County’s “red zone” comes after public health officials and district leaders met Tuesday to go over the latest COVID-19 data in the county.
In July, the Johnson County health department said it made its gating criteria at the request of local superintendents and in consultation with them. It’s based on the percentage of positive tests and the number of new cases over the last 14 days.
The health department said the number of new cases reported and the percent of positive tests in Johnson County has increased.
Currently, the percent of positive tests over the last two weeks sits at 11.4%, and the county averaged 106 cases per day last week compared to 90 per day in the two weeks before that, according to the health department.
That data puts Johnson County in the red zone.
In a news release, health officials stressed that although this is the current data and aligning zone, it can change “if people are willing to make it happen.”
Breaking down the phases
Under the guidance, all students would be remote only if cases are increasing in Johnson County and more than 15% of tests are positive.
In the red zone, the county is seeing 14 days of less than or equal to 15% positive tests and steady or decreasing new cases. This is where elementary students attend in-person, but middle and high schoolers are remote.
The health department said that grade level difference is because there’s evidence showing older students transmit COVID-19 like adults, but young children don’t appear to be “major drivers of COVID-19 transmission.”
Younger children are also unable to stay home alone, and elementary schools are better able to group kids to prevent exposure.
In the yellow zone, Johnson County needs to see 14 days of less than or equal to 10% positive tests and steady or decreasing new cases.
At that point, middle and high school students could return to schools for hybrid learning, limiting number of people in the building. When it comes to extra-curriculars, “high-risk” activities like close-contact sports, choir and band would not be allowed.
To reach the green zone, the county needs to see 14 days of less than or equal to 5% positive tests and steady or declining new cases. Then, all students could return to classrooms while following health precautions.
You can track the COVID-19 data for the gating criteria here.
