In a Thursday meeting, Oklahoma’s State Board of Education opened the door for school districts to have school on Saturdays in the upcoming 2020-21 school year.
The flexibility waiver to allow school on Saturdays, which was approved by a vote of five to two, isn’t designed to create six day school weeks in Oklahoma.
Rather, its proponents want school districts to have an option to get creative as they plan for contingencies around COVID-19.
The dissenting board members said they thought the motion could be abused and students’ weekends should be protected.
The decision to go to school on Saturdays will ultimately be up to local school boards, but State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister stressed that she does not expect schools to use the option of Saturday school as a first resort.
