Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro state authorizes 59 cities to restart hybrid classes

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Rio de Janeiro state government has authorized 59 cities, including the capital, to restart in-person educational activities, while maintaining the hybrid model which also offers online classes.

The decision to return to in-person classes is left to the parents or adult students.

The state’s other 33 municipalities should continue to offer exclusively remote teaching, with in-person classes only for administrative activities, the collection of teaching materials and meals.

Protocols

The protocols for attending public and private schools in the state education system are described in resolution n. 5930/2021, published on April 23. Each school management is in charge of organizing attendance activities, according to local conditions and the educational project, also taking into account available teachers, social distancing and health protocols.

Authorization is granted according to the city’s Covid-19 risk classification. If a city is flagged red or purple, schools may only operate for administrative activities with classes being held exclusively online.

When a city reaches the orange, yellow and green flags, schools may offer in-person educational activities to interested students. Capacity limits must be observed in each case.

Under the orange flag, elementary schools may occupy 50% and high schools 40% of their capacity. In terms of the yellow flag, the rate rises to 75% and 60%, respectively, and full occupancy will be granted under the green flag.

Schools need to organize their spaces to ensure the required minimum distance, provide 70% hand sanitizer, sanitizing mats, and signal the necessary social distancing in common areas. As for the private network, each school must comply with the rules determined by the cities.

App

The Rio de Janeiro State Education Secretariat has released the Applique-se app, in which students may use the Internet without using their data package. The app offers 6,500 educational contents, such as video classes, podcasts, and study guidelines.

For the second semester, the secretariat launched the storytelling methodology, which offers content through storytelling and gaming.