Plan In Place, South Brunswick Schools Await State Health Guidance

SOUTH BRUNSWICK, NJ — Hundreds of students are preparing to fill the hallways and classrooms come Sept. 6, the first day of the official 2022-23 school year.

For the first time since 2020, students and staff won’t be facing significant health restrictions following the recent state and CDC guidance that relaxed COVID-19 rules.

During last week’s Board of Education meeting, Superintendent Scott Feder made a presentation on health and safety guidance.

Although the school district has a plan, they won’t be sharing it yet with the community until they receive guidance from the state Department of Health, Feder said.

“One of the reasons I don't want to share too much right now about our plans is I'm concerned about what happened many times over the last two plus years, which is we say one thing and then have to revert, revise, change, flip, because of new information that comes our way,” Feder said.

“We'll be sending out a communication fully demonstrating what we're doing related to COVID on Friday, Sept. 2.”

Feder said South Brunswick had hoped to start the school year with COVID-19 in the rearview mirror, but the district received an extensive planning document they have to submit to the state, outlining their plans for COVID-19.

Although COVID-19 spread in South Brunswick is quite low, the region as a whole is in the “orange” zone, meaning it has a rate of 10 to 25 cases per 100,000 people.

While the district waits for guidance, the Superintendent said there were a few things that would not change irrespective of the forthcoming guidelines.

“One thing we are doing is a cautionary approach to large events. We are making sure we don't do unnecessary things that could cause the spread. That's just smart thinking,” Feder said.

Another guideline that will not change is students need to be home when they are sick. “No matter what the state says. If you're sick stay home, period,” Feder said.

One of the biggest questions is whether the school district will provide virtual learning to students who stay home to quarantine. “Right now, I do not know that answer. That is one answer we are waiting for direction on.”

A few school districts in the state have decided against providing remote learning. Virtual learning will not be available for Princeton Public Schools students who have to stay home due to COVID-19.

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