KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas and Kansas City Health Department Director Rex Archer, M.D., today announced reopening recommendations for K-12 schools in Kansas City ahead of the fall semester—including the recommendation to refrain from conducting in-person education through at least Labor Day. Once classroom learning begins, schools should organize their classrooms and facilities to provide for proper social distancing, taking into consideration that risk of infection increases by age.

“We want to get students back into the classroom as quickly as we can—but that cannot occur until we obtain adequate PPE infrastructure to protect our students, teachers and staff,” said Mayor Lucas. “Beginning in-person learning after Labor Day will provide more time for our schools to prepare for what classroom learning looks like as we continue working to stem the spread of COVID-19. Much of our reopening guidance moving forward will be dependent on Kansas City and school districts receiving our portion of CARES Act funding from our counties, which will fund vital PPE, infrastructure, and virtual learning support for classroom learning in a safe and responsible manner.”

“We will continue to watch the transmission data and adjust our guidance for schools, children and education staff as it will likely become necessary during the school year," said Dr. Archer. We’re hoping that as more people are consistently wearing masks, the rate of increase and transmission will slow this disease and reduce the need for more restrictive measures.”