In a memo obtained by Haaretz, schools around Israel were instructed to prepare for three possible scenarios for the start of the next school year: a full lockdown, no lockdown or a partial lockdown that would incorporate online learning with physical learning.
According to the memo, regardless of scenario, elementary and middle schools must cut their obligatory lesson plans down to around 70% compared to those that are taught under the current Education Ministry plans, in order to allow more flexibility when dealing with unexpected coronavirus-related circumstances.
The memo was written by outgoing Education Ministry director-general Shmuel Abuhav and sent to principals across the country on Tuesday, the day before the end of the current school year.
As confirmed coronavirus cases have been rising rapidly since reopening and Israelis fear a second wave, the topic of fully reopening schools next September has come into question. Earlier on Tuesday, 30 students and five teachers in a school in Ashdod tested positive for COVID-19.
In the memo, Abuhav tells schools they must each build three different work plans for the next school year "based on their knowledge and experience from the first wave."