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With little improvement in , Howard County Public Schools is bumping the date when in-person programs could resume.

The next possible date is . A decision on that would be made roughly next week because the school district wants to factor in two weeks for adequate preparations.

The most recent data for the county shows a seven-day average test-positivity rate of over 8%, and a seven-day average of confirmed cases at 47.2 per 100,000 people.

The school district will stay all-virtual until there’s a test-positivity rate of 5% or less over a seven-day range, and until the seven-day rolling average case rate drops below 10 per 100,000.

Recently, HCPS announced its plan for a return to classrooms — beginning with the resumption of small group programs, followed by a gradual increase of students in the third quarter. “Expanded in-person instruction” would then begin in the fourth quarter, per that plan.

Once a decision is reached on a start date, an announcement will be posted online and distributed via email and social media. One or more school-based learning centers will be provided at every school once in-person programs resume.

The school district also announced Tuesday that it will because of the elevated health metrics.

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