in-person class

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Hundreds of Michigan school districts have to offer at least 20 hours a week of in-person instruction to receive their entire $450 minimum per-student increase in pandemic funding.

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is strongly encouraging all K-12 schools in Michigan to reopen for in-person instruction by March 1. She stopped short of requiring it Friday, but said face-to-face classes should at least be an option. Many schools, including in large districts such as Ann Arbor and Grand Rapids, have been fully remote during the coronavirus pandemic. Teachers are among residents who will be vaccinated starting Monday as the state transitions to the next phase of its vaccine rollout.

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Nonpublic schools are suing after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration extended a coronavirus order that prevents in-person instruction at Michigan high schools, saying it violates the First Amendment right to practice religion. The federal lawsuit, filed in Michigan’s Western District, was brought by a group representing more than 400 nonpublic schools across the state, as well as three Catholic high schools and 11 parents. The state health department lengthened the restriction by 12 days, through Dec. 20. It took effect Nov.

Today Notre Dame announced that it won't begin in-person classes for the spring semester until Feb. 3. 

The president of Notre Dame announced that based on improving conditions with COVID-19, the university will return in stages to in-person classes and levels of activity that were in place before the "pause." 

Fr. John Jenkins spoke to the university community in a live broadcast via YouTube Friday morning to announce the plans. He cited an improving positivity rate in testing and said that the gradual resumption of in-person class will start on Wed., Sept. 2. There will also be a gradual reopening of common spaces on campus, as well. 

Via a Facebook post, the Elkhart Co. Health Dept. has announced another twist in the school reopening plan. The latest information is that schools *can* now choose to open for in-person instruction. This comes one day after the county's superintendents took part in a conference call with the county's health officer and were given the impression that they needed to move to online instruction only through September. 

The Penn Harris Madison School Corporation is planning to start school with an online only option after consulting with local health officials. The earliest the school would consider returning to offering an in-person instruction option is Oct. 27. 

The PHM School Board will vote on this next week. 

The Indiana State Department of Health reported 67 additional confirmed deaths over the last week, bringing the state’s total to 2,567. The state announced more than 51,000 total confirmed cases, with more than 564,000 Hoosiers tested.

Indiana's two largest public universities are throwing their support behind a lawsuit challenging a new federal student visa policy from Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 

Today the University of Notre Dame released a copy of a letter that the school's President Rev. John Jenkins sent to the acting leader of Homeland Security urging the department to reverse course on a plan to deport international students who don't attend class in-person in the fall due to the coronavirus.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana officials are showing no signs of slowing down school reopenings that are just weeks away even as the state has seen higher rates of people testing positive and being hospitalized for the coronavirus. Some Indiana school districts are poised to resume classes starting in late July under guidelines issued by state education officials last month. State Health Commissioner Dr. Kristina Box said Wednesday that it is important for education and mental health reasons that students return to schools.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — The fall term at the University of Michigan will open Aug. 31 with a mix of remote learning and in-person classes at the Ann Arbor campus. The school announced its latest response to the coronavirus. Residence halls will be open, but there will be an emphasis on boxed meals and fewer people at one time in dining rooms. Large classes will be held online. Small classes will meet in-person, and class sizes in the middle will be a mix of both. President Mark Schlissel is promising more details in the weeks ahead.

Indiana University announced its plans for the 2020-2021 school year, including a mix of online-only and in-person classes throughout both fall and spring semesters and eliminating fall and spring breaks.

A news release from the university says during the fall semester (Aug. 24-Dec.20), classes may meet either in person or online until Nov. 20. And beginning Nov. 30, classes will go virtual for the remainder of the fall semester.

IU Spokesman Chuck Carney says the university hasn’t worked out specifics on what classes will be in-person and what classes with be virtual.