Kansas limit on remote learning becomes a challenge for schools during COVID surge

COVID-19 exposure is driving a record number of student and staff absences in Wichita Public Schools, but district officials say in-person learning is here to stay.

The Kansas Legislature moved last summer to prevent districts from offering students more than 40 hours of remote instruction each school year, saying students have better outcomes when they’re learning face to face.

But the most recent COVID surge has triggered a statewide teacher shortage, and students quarantining at home have no option to log into online classrooms. In the Wichita school district last week there were 1,931 students in quarantine, down from 3,300 the previous week.

“I’ve been getting emails from students that are worried about their grades because they’ve been out,” Wichita school board member Kathy Bond said at the Jan. 18 board meeting.

“I would just request that we could extend it at least for 30 or 60 days for these kids that are out of school right now.”

Superintendent Alicia Thompson clarified that unless the Legislature removes its cap on remote learning hours, Wichita schools can’t offer their students more flexibility.

“We have to follow the state statute, so we can’t extend or adjust the statute in any way. We have to follow it,” Thompson said.

School board president Stan Reeser said the Legislature’s decision to limit remote learning has “put us in a really bad spot” as a district.

“They did not recognize that there was going to be another surge and that the challenge was going to be on the school districts again on keeping schools open,” Reeser told The Eagle in an interview last week.

Under state law, if a school district provides a student with more than 40 hours of remote education, it can lose up to two-thirds of state funding for that student.

Thompson has said the district will try to give as much notice as possible before canceling classes, but parents may be notified as late as the day before their child’s school is closed due to COVID. Several schools have been closed a day or more in the past few weeks.

“We are definitely being challenged right now to keep schools open and classes going, but it is an effort that’s worth making,” Reeser said.

He said he generally agrees with the Legislature’s reasoning for keeping kids in classrooms, but he thinks remote learning should be an option school districts have at their disposal.

“The reason why it’s not an option is because it’s been shown and proven that we need to do as much in-person learning as possible,” Reeser said.

“But the pandemic has proven that remote could work for some students in some particular situations, and it’s an option that should really be open to school districts in the future.”

Rep. Jarrod Ousley, a Democrat from Merriam, has introduced legislation that would remove the 40-hour cap on remote learning, but he told the Kansas News Service he doubts the House K-12 budget committee will pass it.

“I personally don’t think it will ever see the light of day,” Ousley said.

This story was originally published January 31, 2022 at 4:53 AM.