Due to the coronavirus and budget problems, some public schools may be meeting on Saturdays during the next school year.

The Oklahoma State Board of Education voted 5-2 to approve a flexibility waiver allowing schools to count any instruction offered on Saturdays toward the state’s minimum requirement of 180 days of instruction or the equivalent in hours and minutes.

State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister said she does not expect any schools to use the option of Saturday school as a first resort. She said local school boards and administrators need as much flexibility as possible in creating school calendars with provisions for possible COVID-19 closures and to provide special accommodations for students needing extra help or with extraordinary health concerns.

The Oklahoma State Department of Education has published a framework for Oklahoma school districts as they plan for the 2020-21 school year to help cope with the coronavirus.

“Educators know students will experience greater learning losses this year, given that the ‘summer slide’ has been compounded by the unconventional ending of the spring term,” said Hofmeister.

“As they plan for the new school year, our districts are now focused on how to recapture learning and ensure the safety and health of students, staff and families. The details of how that is determined will vary widely, based on the extent to which COVID-19 is impacting local and school communities and what processes are feasible and practical for districts.”

The plan is built on four categories – school operations; academics and growth; whole child and family supports and school personnel. Each includes a checklist of actions and considerations districts can review. Also, there is guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Oklahoma State Department of Health and others, with an emphasis on the CDC’s recommendation that re-opening be layered to lessen risk.