SBCSC Board approves fall reopening plan

SOUTH BEND, Ind. --- The South Bend Community School Corporation Board voted to approve its reopening plan for the fall at its regularly scheduled meeting on Monday night. The plan comes after the CDC recommended all children under the age of 12 wear masks at school until a vaccine is approved for that age group.

The plan would keep elements like social distancing and requiring all students to wear masks on buses. However, students and teachers who are vaccinated no longer have to wear a mask and those who are unvaccinated are only advised to do so. 

"A lot of those practices that we learned worked well in the spring, we will try to keep them up as best as possible in the fall," said Brandon White, Chief Academic Officer for South Bend Schools. 

The plan also offers a virtual option for students who do not feel comfortable returning to in-person instruction. White says the corporation is not tracking who has or hasn't been vaccinated but it won't rule out that possibility. 

"The reason that we’re not doing that now is because it’s a large endeavor and we also want to look at how these larger districts, such as IPS, are monitoring and tracking vaccination records of individuals regarding the COVID-19 vaccine," said White.