The Louisiana Department of Education releases guidelines on how childcare centers and summer schools should proceed under Phase One.
Childcare centers were not ordered closed under stay at home, but Assistant Superintendent Jessica Baghian says 70% voluntarily shut down. Under the guidance she expects many will return.
“We do anticipate a significant number of centers opening under Phase One, and even more in Phase Two,” said Baghian.
Baghian says the centers that did stay open operated at a lower capacity and mostly served children of essential workers.
The guidance calls for new procedures for pick up and drop off, separating children into smaller groups, and requiring workers to wear masks. Baghian says mask-wearing is recommended for children “as able”.
“That said the “as able” is an important caveat when talking about young children. We understand the difficulties of that,” said Baghian.
Children under two, or children with breathing difficulties should not wear masks per the CDC.
Baghian says they’ve talked with local districts about summer school offerings and many are working on plans that fit under Phase One’s ban on gatherings of more than ten people, but it may not be until Phase Two that many of those school system offerings return.
LDE received a ten million dollar grant from the feds earlier this month to help maintain childcare centers economically impacted by COVID-19.
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