COVID In Colorado: State Releasing Plan To Get Students Back Into Classrooms

(CBS4) - The State of Colorado is releasing a plan Tuesday to get students back into classrooms successfully around the state called the Roadmap to In-Person Learning. Many students in school districts up and down the Front Range have spent a large part of the school year so far learning remotely, and Gov. Jared Polis and other top education specialists want that to change.

"This has been an incredibly challenging year, for students, for educators," Polis said of the COVID-19 pandemic in a Tuesday afternoon news conference.

"And we know that what has been occurring this past semester simply hasn't worked for too many kids."

The report emphasizes that there is a relatively low risk of the spread of coronavirus in a school environment, as long as health precautions are being followed properly. Plus, there have been many lessons learned since the virus first appeared in the state.

"We have more tools, more testing, more tracing, more knowledge about this. And so we have the tools to be able to prioritize in person learning again," Colorado Commissioner of Education Dr. Katy Anthes said about the Roadmap to In-Person Learning.

Polis said the report "uses data, science, transparency."

"We have identified the very specific action steps that will allow schools to reopen safely while prioritizing the health of students and staff," he said. "It includes prioritizing testing for schools, expanding contact tracing capacity for schools, continued mask wearing, regular symptom screening, effective cohorting, continued social distancing and effective ventilation ... and continued hand washing."