Liberals press for details on plan for students this fall

Government is facing questions about what it has planned for P.E.I. students this fall and when parents, teachers and kids will find out if there will be a return to Island classrooms in September.

During Tuesday's afternoon sitting of the legislature, Liberal MLA Robert Mitchell said thousands of students have had their educationdisrupted.

School buildings have been closed since mid-March as a public safety measure in response to COVID-19.

With the potential of a second wave this fall, Mitchell questioned what government hasplanned for students in September, if students would be returning to classrooms and if there was a possibility of an earlier start to the school year.

"At a time of uncertainty, parents and students need as much certainty as possible. They need to plan because they need to prepare," Mitchell said.

"At what point Mr. minister will you make a decision on the upcoming school year?"

Several options on the table

Inresponse, Education Minister Brad Trivers acknowledged the last few months have been a difficult time for parents and teachers.

Trivers didn't give specific details, but said when it came to school this fall, his department would follow whatever guidelines recommended by the Chief Public Health Office.

"There's nothing I would like to see more than classes resume as normal in the fall, and if that's what the CPHO allows us to do, that's what we will do," he said.

Trivers said there's a committeeworking on developing various options for the fall, including the possibility of a full return to normal, a hybrid model that includes both at-home and in-classroom learning, or keeping students exclusively at home.

In terms of possibly starting the school year sooner, Trivers said that was a suggestion brought to the table, but"there's a lot of operational concerns there" when it comes to navigating employees' contracts and getting people back to work.

"It's not entirely completely off the table but very close."

Trivers said he hopes to have plans for the upcoming school year in place by the end of June.

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