WHEREAS, on March 13, 2020, I issued Proclamation 20-12 prohibiting public and private universities, colleges, technical schools, apprenticeship programs, and similar schools and programs from conducting in-person classroom instruction and lectures related to all educational and apprenticeship related programs; and WHEREAS, the prohibitions in Proclamation 20-12 expired on April 24, 2020, but public and private universities, colleges, technical schools, apprenticeship programs, and similar schools and programs have remained in modified operation, including remote learning and certain programs for essential workers; and WHEREAS, Washington’s public and private universities, colleges, technical schools, apprenticeship programs, and similar schools and programs are an important part of our economy and are vital to the educational, social, and economic needs of Washingtonians; and WHEREAS, using remote learning to replace most classroom instruction creates challenges to access for many Washingtonians; and WHEREAS , the progression of COVID-19 in Washington State shows ethnic disparities in health impacts which are likely to increase ethnic disparities in access and success in post-secondary education requiring the State and all of our campuses and programs to understand how these challenges affect our students and to work to minimize these impacts; and WHEREAS, although public and private universities, colleges, technical schools, apprenticeship programs, and similar schools and programs have made tremendous efforts to continue to function through remote learning, returning to campus and these facilities as soon as can be safely accomplished will benefit Washington; and WHEREAS , although the Department of Health indicates that COVID-19 is an ongoing, present threat in Washington State, health professionals predict that we can safely return to campus at our public and private universities, colleges, technical schools, apprenticeship programs, and similar schools and programs in fall 2020 if appropriate safety measure are in place and if both students and personnel adhere to those measures; and WHEREAS, the nature of COVID-19 viral transmission, including both asymptomatic and symptomatic spread as well as the relatively high infectious nature, suggests it is appropriate to physically return to campus and programs at public and private universities, colleges, technical schools, apprenticeship programs, and similar schools and programs only through a science-based approach the incorporates safety, sanitation, and physical distancing guidelines; and WHEREAS , during the initial return to campus in the fall of 2020, there have been more than 35 COVID-19 outbreaks linked to public and private institutions of higher education, and some higher education institutions have seen a substantial increase in COVID-19 positive cases that are tied to both congregate living arrangements, including fraternities and sororities, and also large social gatherings of students, thereby triggering the need to increase safety measures to address these outbreaks; and
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