KENTUCKY — School leaders across the Commonwealth are considering new, more relaxed guidelines announced by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday.

CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walenski — sharing a video conference with Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institutes of Health —made the announcement that elementary schools in COVID-safe communities could move social distancing barriers to three feet instead of six.

"We have frequently said, 'CDC believes schools should be the last place to close and the first place to open,'" she said.

She clarified that middle and high schools should maintain the standard six-foot radius among students, as older students have been found by the CDC to more easily transmit the disease. They also typically move around school buildings more often, as they learn subjects from individual teachers.

"Because COVID-19 is spread more likely among older students, CDC recommends middle and high school students should be at least six feet apart in communities where COVID-19 risk is high, unless cohorting is possible," Walenski said.

Friday afternoon, Kentucky Dept. of Education spokesperson Toni Konz Tatman tweeted that her office was working with the commonwealth's health department to update "Healthy at School" guidance for all public schools.

On Thursday, ahead of the CDC's public announcement, Spectrum News met with Oldham County Superintendent Greg Schultz, who correctly predicted the agency was about to change its guidance to three-foot distancing.

"We have to make sure we maintain that six-foot at lunch, that’s a non-negotiable while we’re unmasked," he said. "But, during the day, kids will be anywhere from three-to-six feet apart and they’ll be mask-up. Our kids have been tremendous all year round, that has not been a problem."