The state is still advising that schools in York County should add extra precautions and reconsider full, in-person classes this fall.The Maine Department of Education Friday once again designated the southern Maine county as "yellow" under its color-coded health advisory system for schools, as officials have raised concerns over recent outbreaks and rising test positivity rates in the region.
Maine's other 15 counties continue to receive ratings of "green," which means that schools can consider full, in-person learning while abiding by certain state requirements.
Following last week's yellow designation, the Sanford School Department chose to delay the start of in-person classes until September 14. Other districts in southern Maine say that they were already approaching reopening cautiously and are sticking to hybrid reopening plans.
On Thursday, the Maine Principals' Association also announced that as part of new fall sports guidelines, schools in counties designated "yellow" or "red" will be restricted from holding practices or games until they eventually move to green.