Vermont's schoolchildren will return this fall to vastly different school systems that feature temperature checks to board school buses, mandatory face coverings, closed cafeterias and hand-sanitizer stations at school entrances.

Those measures are included in 23 pages of guidance for K-12 public and private schools that Vermont's Agency of Education and Department of Health released on Wednesday.

Drafted with input from infectious disease experts, pediatricians, and public health and education professionals, the document — “A Strong and Healthy Start: Safety and Health Guidance for Reopening Schools, Fall 2020” — aims to decrease the risk of transmission of COVID-19 among staff and students.

The document states that the guidance may evolve and will be updated as new information becomes available. What is certain, though, is that schools will look and feel markedly different than they did when students were dismissed in mid-March, with enhanced physical distancing measures in place.

Guidelines include daily health screening for students and staff — involving both verbal questions and a temperature check — at the first point of contact. That means students dropped off at school will be checked before they enter the building. Those who take a bus must be screened before they even board. If a student has a temperature of 100.4 degrees or higher, they will be sent home.

If COVID-19 is confirmed in a student or staff member, the school areas they had used will be closed off, cleaned and disinfected.

Additional measures include hand-sanitizing stations and the disinfecting of common spaces and frequently touched surfaces at the beginning, middle and end of each day.

Both students and staff must wear facial coverings — cloth masks or clear facial shields — while inside the school building. If they can't maintain six feet of social distancing when outside, their faces must be covered. That can be waived for students with medical or behavioral conditions that prevent them from wearing a mask.

Visitation to schools will be curtailed extensively, and parents will not be able to enter when they drop their kids off.

The document outlines physical-distancing measures that should be implemented to reduce contact between students. When feasible, the same group of students should stay in their designated classroom, and the same teachers and staff should remain with those students all day. The guidance notes that this “will need to be addressed differently to meet the needs of high school (and maybe middle school) students,” but it does not specify what this might look like.

Within classrooms, desks should be spaced six feet apart and facing in one direction. The sharing of art supplies and computer and lab equipment should be limited.  Communal spaces including the cafeteria and gymnasium should be closed unless they are needed for additional classroom space. Students will eat lunch in their classrooms.

Outdoor recess space can be used as long as physical distancing is possible, and playground equipment should be cleaned frequently throughout the day. The teacher’s lounge should be closed, and physical barriers should be installed in reception areas and employee work spaces where distancing isn’t possible.

Group activities with the potential to generate increased respiratory droplets and aerosols, such as singing and music involving brass and woodwind instruments, are to be avoided.

To aid in contact tracing, students should have assigned seats. Staff members should keep track of all those who enter their classrooms and are encouraged to keep a daily list of those they come into close contact with.

Libby Bonesteel, superintendent of Montpelier-Roxbury Public Schools, shared her initial thoughts about the document via email. She said she was anticipating much of the guidance related to masks, physical distancing and health checks. Her district is already developing plans for those protocols.

Bonesteel said there were several parts of the guidance she found contradictory. The document states that if children are too young to answer the verbal health screening questions accurately before they enter school, a parent should remain with them. But because parents are not allowed in the building, that means that, in her district, there will be upwards of 250 children and their parents who will have to wait outside each day for screening.

The transportation requirements will be an issue, particularly for rural towns and schools, said Bonesteel. “It is not a bus driver’s job, nor should it be, to do health screenings on children," she wrote. "Hiring bus monitors will be extremely hard for school districts.”

Vicki Graf, principal of Jericho Elementary School, also had concerns about the expense of daily health screenings and additional supplies. Said Graf: “I think our school districts are going to need support from the state to cover these costs.”

The guidelines are here:

Vermont lawmakers on Wednesday advanced legislation that would dispense nearly one-third of the $1.25 billion the state has received through the federal Coronavirus Relief Fund.

The House signed off on a $300 million spending package largely focused on supporting the state's health care system. The Senate, meanwhile, gave preliminary approval to a short-term state budget that would distribute an additional $116 million in federal aid.

Lawmakers have been working frenetically in recent days to determine how to spend the state's roughly $1 billion in remaining federal funds. In addition to the bills on the floor Wednesday, the two chambers have been finalizing major spending packages focused on business, agriculture, housing and broadband. Legislators hope to send all of those bills to Gov. Phil Scott by June 26, and then adjourn until late August when they expect to finalize a longer-term state budget.

The House-passed legislation, H.965, would provide the Agency of Human Services $251 million to distribute to health care providers financially damaged by the coronavirus pandemic. Hospitals, independent doctors, dentists, mental health providers, home health agencies and long-term care facilities would all be eligible for the funding, which would be allocated based on need through an application process.

Updated at 9:51 a.m. on June 18, 2020.

Nearly 100 sign-wielding protesters marched to Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger's Summit Street home on Wednesday evening to demand that the city reduce police spending.

Armed with a sousaphone, drums and several loudspeakers, the activists took over the otherwise quiet Hill Section street, blocking traffic with their cacophonous parade. Chants of "Black lives matter" alternated with "Hey hey, ho ho, Mayor Weinberger's got to go."

Activists have mobilized in recent days to denounce Weinberger's fiscal year 2021 budget proposal. After calls to defund police, the mayor proposed not filling 12 vacant officer positions in order to trim $1.1 million from the proposed $17.4 million police budget. In the wake of the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Burlington activists have demanded that the city trim much more — 30 percent of its force — and invest the funds in communities of color.
They've called in to public meetings by the hundreds, forcing the Burlington City Council to hold three straight meetings this week so that people signed up to speak could do so. Wednesday night's meeting commenced as the marchers started toward the mayor's home, with City Councilor Perri Freeman (P-Central District) among them.

This latest demonstration was seemingly spurred by Weinberger's early departure from two city council meetings this week, once for a family commitment.

"You left, so we came to you," one sign read.

"Miro is a copsucker," read another.

State officials are aiming to relax visitation rules for residents of long-term care facilities just in time for Father's Day weekend.

Residents will be able to have two visitors per day, as long as they socialize outside, wear facial coverings and keep a safe physical distance, Human Services Secretary Mike Smith said at a press conference on Wednesday. Visitors will be screened for COVID-19 symptoms when they arrive.

"We are going to try to expedite that in order to have this ready in time for this weekend," Smith said, setting Friday, June 19, as the target date.

The new rules, he said, "will help alleviate some of the loneliness and isolation for long-term care residents" who have been cooped up since March.

When publisher Steve Pappas made a series of cost-cutting moves at the Rutland Herald and Barre-Montpelier Times Argus in March, he hoped they would last just two weeks. Instead, they've lasted three months.

Now, in a bid to lure back advertisers and court new subscribers, the papers are returning to their pre-pandemic publishing schedule and hiring back at least some former employees.

"The whole staff is really excited about it," Pappas said.

The Burlington Police Commission approved a new use-of-force policy for the city police department Tuesday evening after months of delay caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The seven-member citizen commission approved the policy 5-1, with Commissioner Yuol Herjok Yuol casting the "no" vote. Commissioner Mark Hughes voted "present" after airing concerns that the commission didn't have enough time to review the final draft.

Commissioner Randall Harp said the policy is much stronger than the previous version but noted that the directive alone can't hold officers accountable for using excessive force.

"Policies are important to have as a necessary condition for getting officer accountability and getting the kind of culture that you want out of a police force," Harp said before the vote. "In many respects, this is a very good policy."

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