LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Jefferson County Public Schools will resume classes this week on a staggered schedule, but not until Friday, Aug. 18. All schools will remain closed Wednesday, Aug. 16. 

What You Need To Know

  • Jefferson County Public Schools will resume classes on Aug. 18

  • High school students won't go back to class until Aug. 21

  • JCPS has laid out short-term plans to assist with the transportation issues

The school district announced all elementary and middle school students will return to classes Friday, Aug. 18. High school students will resume classes Monday, Aug. 21.

Students at what are called “multilevel schools,” such as Marion C. Moore middle school and Marion C. Moore high school, will return with their level. The Moore middle schoolers will return Friday, Aug. 18 and the high schoolers on Monday, Aug. 21.

JCPS says all state agency schools will return Friday, Aug. 18.

In a news conference Monday night, Superintendent Marty Pollio struck a conciliatory tone while outlining next steps to address the transportation issues that plagued JCPS on its first day of school. 

"First and foremost, I want to apologize to our students, families, teachers, bus drivers and employees," Pollio said. He recognized even if some weren't affected by bus problems, all JCPS families were inconvenienced by the new rollout and ensuing school closures.

In a letter to parents, Pollio said JCPS will ask the Jefferson County Board of Education to forgive as many missed days as possible so students do not have to make them up at the end of the year.

“We know our long-term solution to our challenges will be to revamp bus routes; however, we need to create a temporary plan to ensure we can return to school safely now. As we return, our Operations team will continue working to create a permanent solution.” said Pollio in the letter.

Pollio’s letter said the district has work to do to implement long-term solutions, but that it has short-term adjustments to the transportation plan.

Those adjustments include implementing technology, which will allow parents and schools to know where a student’s bus is during the ride to and from school. Instructions will be provided to families soon according to the letter.

JCPS vans and drivers will be available to take elementary students home or back to school when they don’t have an adult waiting at a stop. Pollio’s letter said this will allow bus drivers to continue on their routes without returning to the original school.

The district says it will provide an extra bus or van at depots to take student home when or if they arrive late to the depot. This will allow the other depot buses to continue on their routes without waiting for buses to arrive.

An extra JCPS staff member, equipped with a cell phone and GPS, will be on buses with the longest routes to help with directions and communicate with schools when a bus runs late.

JCPS says it also will reduce the length of routes with a lot of stops, beginning with afternoon runs.

Elementary and middle school families who need Special Needs Transportation, will be called by Wednesday, Aug. 16 and be provided with their transportation information.

As he outlined next steps, Pollio acknowledge the massive undertaking of implementing new start times while adding new schools, but with less bus drivers. "This is the biggest change we've taken on since the 1970s in JCPS," he said. "Going back to what we were doing is not an option," Pollio added. 

This is a developing story. We will add more details when they become available.