What: Official Statement from West Virginia Superintendent of Schools W. Clayton Burch
Regarding: Logan County Schools Extracurricular Activities
Date: September 24, 2020
Contact: Christy Day, WVDE Office Communications, 304-558-2699
DETAILS: After learning of the situation surrounding the status of extracurricular activities in Logan County, Governor Jim Justice has asked me to explore Logan County student athletes’ ability to participate in athletic contests this weekend.
Although the county is gold according to the latest West Virginia Department of Education’s (WVDE) School Alert System map, the local board of education decided to not return to in-person instruction this week. Under the existing protocols, the county should have returned to school on Monday, September 21, and would have been permitted to hold contests in-county, or with other gold counties. Due to the local board’s decision, students are prevented from participating in extracurricular contests until Monday, September 28, 2020.
These student athletes have diligently and faithfully been practicing in hopes of participating in extracurricular activities, and Governor Justice does not believe the opportunity to play this weekend should be withheld solely due to the Logan County Board of Education’s decisions which were contrary to the existing WVDE map.
Following Governor Justice’s direction, I have worked with the West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission, and am happy to announce that, consistent with Logan County’s current status on the WVDE map, student athletes may participate in extracurricular activities this weekend.
Governor Justice and I remind our communities to continue to follow the best public health practices to bring COVID-19 under control locally and allow schools to return to full operations.