New York state’s adoption of federal school social distancing guidelines won’t help schools much if COVID cases continue to increase.

The state Health Department cut social distancing requirements from 6 feet to 3 feet in most cases. The guidance came about a month after the federal Centers for Disease Control changed its guidance.

“Their recommendations of what you can do and how you can bring kids back and whether it’s 3 feet or 6 feet rely heavily on those color codes,” said Dr. Kevin Whitaker, Jamestown Public Schools superintendent. “The upper color codes — red and orange — require cohorting in order to reduce the distance between kids. That is extremely difficult to do at the high school level and in some other places maybe at the middle school level as well. We have been cohorting at the middle school level so I have some optimism about that. Our elementary I believe we have a little more freedom there as well. The challenges are going to be logistical around lunches and where we can do that and how we can staff them.”

Having the state and federal governments on the same page makes it easier for school districts to plan, but most changes in social distancing hinge on COVID caseloads decreasing.

That has not been the case recently both in Chautauqua County and New York state.

According to the CDC’s website, social distancing requirements in schools are indeed cut in half if a county is in its blue zone, which means fewer than 10 total new cases per 100,000 people over the past seven days and a 5% percentage of positive COVID-19 tests over the past seven days. Schools in a yellow zone, which have between 10 and 49 new cases per 100,000 people over seven days and a positive test percentage between 5% and 7.9%. Those schools can have 3 feet social distancing in elementary, middle and high schools.

Schools in orange (50-99 cases per 100,000 people over seven days and a positive test percentage of 8 to 9.9%) and red zones (more than 100 new cases per 100,000 people over seven days and a positive test percentage more than 10%) can use 3 feet of social distancing but are recommended to group students to limit the number of students in school. Schools that do not use cohorting must still have 6 feet of social distancing in classrooms.

“Red zones encompass nearly the entire state,” Whitaker said. “There are only a few — I’m going to guess four or five counties — that are orange and one county that is yellow. So almost the entire state is red, which means that we are on the most restrictive end of that CDC guidance. A simple headline that says, ‘CDC says 3 feet is OK’ is not entirely accurate given the fact that we are in a ‘red’ county and mostly a red-zoned state.”

A slate of exceptions to the new rule — in which the six-feet protocol still must be followed — includes interactions between adults and between students and adults. The New York State United Teachers said on Friday that schools should increase safety protocols if there are going to be changes to social distancing in schools, including implementing routine COVID testing as soon as possible using federal stimulus money. The union also called for local health departments to make sure school districts are living up to the state and federal rules.

“Ultimately, if changes to local reopening plans are made, it’s up to local departments of health to enforce state required guidelines. They must do so expeditiously and ensure no district is lax in sticking to a layered mitigation strategy,” said Andy Pallotta, NYSUT president.