BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — Monday evening, Gov. Andy Beshear (D) announced his recommendation to push back the first day of in-person classes to Sept. 28.

Various reasons led the governor to make the recommendation, including the fact that Kentucky's positivity rate increased past 5 percent.

Kentucky’s commerce was a contingency point as well, with people traveling both interstate and out of state for work, commerce, and vacation. 

In July, the state reported a 40 percent increase in positive cases among children. 

Beshear spoke with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the Kentucky Board of Education, and the Kentucky Department of Public Health before making the recommendation. Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman (D) says this decision was made to stop the spread.

“This virus continues to evolve and our knowledge of it continues to evolve, and so the question became, 'Is it worth it to go through all of that every single day with these kids just to have them go out and do who knows what and who knows where just to bring the virus back into the same people that were doing that really difficult work every day?' and at the peak of the virus, the answer was no,” said Coleman. 

Many districts around the commonwealth planned to begin classes Aug. 24, offering in-person learning, virtual learning, and/or a combination of both. 

The governor’s recommendation can't force any district to push back in-person classes to Sept. 28, but if they don't want to adhere, then immediate conference with the Kentucky Board of Education would be necessary.

Warren County Public Schools released a statement Tuesday afternoon, stating it would reach out to the Board for a meeting. 

"I have reached out to the Interim Commissioner of Education Kevin Brown in an effort to work toward a plausible path forward,” said Superintendent Rob Clayton. 

Interim Commissioner of Education Kevin Brown says all meetings will take place in hopes of coming to a common goal and understanding.

“What I will do is ask that we schedule a conference call quickly between myself, Chair Young of the State Board. I would also ask incoming commissioner Dr. Glass to meet on the call, and we would ask to meet on Microsoft Teams with you, your board chair, your vice chair, and if you want to have your legal counsel there, not to be adversarial, but to have everyone around the table around the issues that might come up and have a discussion,” said Brown. 

Coleman says one of her top concerns is false equivalence. While restaurants and other social locations have the opportunity to use outside seating and are dominated by adults, mask-wearing and social distancing are harder to enforce in school.

Coleman says while the push back is precautionary, it gives Kentucky the time to refocus their priorities to be #TeamKentucky. 

“Just keep in mind, this is six weeks. If everybody goes out and does what they need to do and wears masks and we take care of this and we crush that curve, then in-person classes are a possibility,” said Coleman. 

The governor’s mandate only calls for the push back of in-person classes, but online and virtual learning can still begin Aug. 24 for districts like Warren County.