ByPatrick Phillips|April 1, 2021 at 5:31 AM EDT - Updated April 2 at 10:05 AM
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCSC/AP) - The South Carolina Senate has unanimously passed a proposal that would require all schools to provide in-person classes five days a week starting as soon as April 12.
The proposal passed Wednesday would also require schools provide five-day-a-week classes next school year too.
The resolution would ban districts from making teachers give instruction both virtually and in person unless there are “extreme and unavoidable circumstances.” In those cases, the district would then have to pay the teacher more.
Fifty-four of South Carolina’s 79 traditional school districts are already back to five days of in-person classes.
Only six of the remaining 25 districts plan to return to five-day in-person instruction by the April 12 deadline in the bill, which still needs approval from lawmakers in the House.
Earlier this week,the Colleton County School District said it planned to begin on May 3. District employees had the opportunity to receive the COVID-19 vaccine this past Tuesday and again on April 28.
District officials say when students return to the classroom, they will see more than 6,000 desk barriers in place to help prevent the spread of the illness.
Copyright 2021 WCSC. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved.