Some county school districts are attesting to the Pennsylvania Department of Education that they are providing in-person instruction to some students and complying with COVID-19 face covering rules.

Gov. Tom Wolf announced Tuesday that public schools in counties that have been in the substantial transmission level for at least two consecutive weeks are required to commit to safety measures to ensure the safety and well-being of students and educators.

By Nov. 30, districts must submit attestation forms stating they have either transitioned to fully remote learning or are complying with the orders if they are conducting any in-person instruction while the county is in the substantial range.

Schools that do not sign or comply with an attestation are required to provide only fully remote learning and suspend all extracurricular activities while the county remains in the substantial level.

As of Nov. 20, 59 counties — including Butler — have been in the substantial level for at least two consecutive weeks.

The Butler Area and Mars Area school districts are attesting to providing in-person instruction to special education students while following safety rules and providing remote instruction to all other students.

“Even if one kid is coming in for tutoring, you have to check in-person,” said Brian White, superintendent of the Butler Area School District.

Some special education students who can't be taught remotely continue to come to school while the rest of the students receive remote instruction, White said.

He said he will sign the attestation form and the school board will have an opportunity to discuss and act on it at a Dec. 7 board meeting.

New recommendations the state also issued Tuesday suggest that districts close individual schools for at least three days if two to four students and/or staff contract the virus.

“We keep hearing from the state that they want to provide local control over opening and closing, but there are so many caveats it leads you to one conclusion — we can't operate on a sustained basis under the guidelines they're setting,” White said.

He said the district will continue remote instruction for most students and in-person instruction for special education students next week after the Thanksgiving break.

The Mars Area School District is closing all schools and providing remote instruction from Dec. 1 to Jan. 4.

Superintendent Mark Gross said the district hopes to reopen the schools Jan. 5, but that decision will be based on recommendations from the state education and health departments and the county transmission level.

If the schools reopen, parents will be given the option of sending their children to school for in-person instruction or keeping them home for remote instruction, Gross said.

Some special needs students who struggle to learn remotely will continue to receive in-person instruction when the district goes remote, he said.

“We continue to remain open for students who have IEPs (Individualized Instruction Programs) that have difficulty learning in the remote setting,” Gross said. “Everyone else is remote.”

The Karns City Area School District will probably attest to providing in-person instruction for students with educational needs that are best addressed in-person and providing remote instruction for the rest of the students, Superintendent Eric Ritzert said.

A formal decision on which of the options will be selected hasn't been made yet, Ritzert said. In his opinion, the in-person attestation will be submitted to the state.

The Allegheny-Clarion Valley School District is using remote instruction until Dec. 4 and hasn't decided how to respond to the governor's attestation requirement. Superintendent David McDeavitt said the school board is meeting Tuesday to discuss returning to in-person instruction.

The South Butler County School District is extending remote instruction through Dec. 4, and the school board is holding a special meeting Monday to discuss the attestation options, said Superintendent David Foley. Any decision the board makes about the school schedule will go into effect beginning the week of Dec. 7.

The Seneca Valley School District is moving all students to remote instruction Dec. 1. An update posted on the district website says all students will move to remote instruction from Dec. 1-22. Students are on Thanksgiving break from Wednesday through Monday. Christmas break runs from Dec. 23-31.

Another post says students in kindergarten through sixth-grade will move to remote instruction with livestreaming from Dec. 1 to Jan. 4.

The Moniteau School District is moving to remote instruction for all students from Nov. 24-Dec. 11.

The Freeport Area School District is moving all students to remote instruction after the Thanksgiving break from Dec. 1-3. Buffalo and South Buffalo elementary schools will return to normal in-person instruction Dec. 7. Middle school and high school students have a hybrid instruction schedule from Dec. 7-10 before moving back to in-person instruction Dec. 14.

The Slippery Rock Area School District is using remote instruction through Dec. 11, but hasn't decided how to reply to the state's attestation form.