Parents have serious questions about what the coming school year will look like in the age of COVID-19.

The provincial government has released its plan on a return to class in the K-12 system, but many say it’s short on detail.

Schools and school districts will have to come up with a plan for September under three separate scenarios depending on the pandemic situation at the time.

Rhonda McMeekin has two young children, one of whom is in school, and has plenty of questions.

Children pick up all kinds of bugs and viruses but won’t be able to attend school or daycare if sick. McMeekin wants to know how that affects parents.

So what clear criteria is there that dictates under which model schools will be operating. This plan is essentially useless without that? And when do they decide which plan we return under in September. The difference between plan 1 and plan 2 is stark with working families.

— Ro (@rhondamcmeekin) July 6, 2020

Also… like.. my kids basically have a head cold from October to March. If they have a runny nose I have to keep them home?

— Ro (@rhondamcmeekin) July 6, 2020

Option one involves low risk of infection, but McMeekin asks what that means. She says if she can’t make a plan for her children, she can’t make a plan for her employer. Women are disproportionately affected by uncertainty.

Jane Bannister says the effects on those whose employment is not flexible to accommodate all scenarios could be felt for years. For example, she says women who leave their jobs to take care of children in their younger years have a harder time re-entering the workforce and often don’t make the same amount of money they would have if they never left. She believes difficult situations will be created if workplaces can’t be flexible.