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State Board of Education Approves Waiver for Saturday School

Wikipedia

The Oklahoma State Board of Education approved a waiver for the upcoming school year on Thursday that will let Saturday sessions count toward instructional time requirements.

Previously, individual districts had to apply for the waiver, a process that could lead to them waiting a month until the next education board meeting. State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister said districts need the ability to change their plans quickly because while COVID-19 has likely not run its full course, she does not foresee a state-level response like closing all schools again in the fall.

"But there is going to be need for quarantine, for closure. We just feel that extra opportunity to have a Saturday coming to school — and that counts if a family wants to or if a school wants to use that — is just simply a flexibility that districts appreciate," Hofmeister said.

The waiver was approved on a 5–2 vote. Board member Estela Hernandez cast one of the votes against it. She said students went through a lot of stress this past year because of the coronavirus and should have their weekends protected, and the state should come up with a different solution.

"I think if there’s anything that this pandemic has taught us, is for us to be able to utilize technology to the greatest extent, and I think there’s more to be done there," Hernandez said.

Holding Saturday sessions would be optional, and Hofmeister said the intent is not to have six-day school weeks.

The education department’s general counsel said schools within a district could make their own plans.

Matt Trotter joined KWGS as a reporter in 2013. Before coming to Public Radio Tulsa, he was the investigative producer at KJRH. His freelance work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times and on MSNBC and CNN.
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