During a School Nurse End of the Year Webcast on March 1, the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) encouraged school health providers to prepare to offer services to students during the summer.
Many schools are considering whether to offer summer education programs to address potential learning loss due to the extended use of non-traditional instruction caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Federal funding from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund II (ESSER II) Grant Program may be used to offer these programs.
“Many of your districts right now are in the process of determining how they plan on expending these dollars,” said Robin Kinney, associate commissioner of KDE’s Office of Finance and Operations. “It’s really important that our school nurses are at the table for those discussions.”
Angie McDonald, KDE’s education nurse consultant, reminded Kentucky school nurses that since students will be in and out of school buildings during summer programs, schools have a legal obligation to provide student health services.
“I challenge you to sit down and think outside of the box on how you might provide these services,” said McDonald.
Schools should continue to follow the Healthy at School guidance regarding safe practices during COVID-19. KDE also released “KDE COVID-19 Guidance 2.0,” a document that compiles the most up-to-date guidance for teaching, learning, and operating schools and districts during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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