A group of 51 lawmakers from both parties is urging the state to relax its distancing rules for kids in school and get more children back into classrooms.
The state has adopted federal CDC guidelines calling for three feet of separation between students in the classroom, but some Maine schools do not have the physical capacity to reconfigure their space to meet that goal.
The lawmakers, led by Republican state Rep. Nathan Carlow of Buxton, have asked the state to reconsider the requirement, citing national studies finding that distancing of less than three feet can be safe.
“I really think the state needs to re-evaluate based on this data, and acknowledge the fact that continuing to keep kids at home have strong adverse consequences,” he says. “We do not want to rush this process. That is not our objective. What we want to do is make sure that students are not being disadvantaged by the continued staying at home and learning from a remote setting.”
In a statement, the Mills administration said most Maine schools are open and educating students in classrooms, and that it also recognizes the importance of getting all kids back into the classroom as soon as possible.
The statement points to the state’s decision to prioritize vaccinations for teachers and provide rapid test kits to schools as steps taken to facilitate opening classrooms.
