Changing guidelines from the state have Palmerton Area School District back at the drawing board on its proposed health and safety reopening plan for the 2020-21 school year.

The district released a 54-page document on its website last Wednesday, a day before the state Department of Education and Department of Health unveiled more specific recommendations on how those plans should look.

“The fact that the governor and the Department of Health put in additional guidance and measurements gave a moment for all of us to pause and reevaluate where we were,” Dr. Jodi Frankelli, Palmerton superintendent said.

Palmerton pulled its original plan from the website and intends to release an updated version later this week. It is also planning a special board meeting next to week to go over the specifics of that plan, which would then be recommended for board approval.

The new draft, Frankelli said, makes clearer distinctions between how the district would operate in the green phase versus the yellow phase, should Carbon County return to that.

“Carbon County has had 46 new cases from June 30 to July 19 after having just 23 new cases in the previous 20-day block,” Frankelli said. “We’ve seen a reverse bell curve with the number of cases in the county so I think that really hits home as to why Gov. Wolf has taken the steps he has during the green phase.”

Last week’s state guidance incorporated into the new proposal.

The best practices announced on Thursday include requiring masks for students and staff at school and on the bus, daily symptom screenings, maintaining six feet of separation between desks and seats in the cafeteria, and limiting student interactions.

What you won’t see in the health and safety plan, Frankelli said, is how curriculum will be delivered, how meals will be served or how technology will be delivered.

“That will come in the building level plans, which will come after the health and safety plan is adopted,” she added.

Those building level plans will be developed in consultation with faculty, staff, parents, etc. The district plans to hold informational sessions for families after those plans are developed.

A frequently asked questions section will be added and regularly updated on the district website. Parents and community members can continue to submit questions or comments to pasd@palmerton.org.