HARRISBURG — The question of whether Pennsylvania schools can reopen safely this fall amidst pandemic concerns was a key issue discussed Monday at a Senate committee hearing.

Gov. Tom Wolf’s education secretary, Pedro Rivera, told lawmakers that he expects students to go back to school in the fall, and the Department of Education will provide guidance in the coming weeks to prepare teachers and staff to return to school.

The Education Committee took testimony from Rivera and officials of several education groups as part of an effort by the Senate Republican Majority Caucus to exercise oversight over the Wolf administration’s handling of the COVD-19 pandemic.

In one exchange, Senate Majority Education Chairman Wayne Langerholc, R-Cambria, asked about the prospects for reopening schools this fall. In his opening remarks, Langerholc noted that Pennsylvania is three months away from the start of a new academic year, and it’s time to prepare for a return to school.

Rivera said the department wants to ensure that a reopening can be done safely for students, school staff and the local community.

Asked whether schools would operate on split schedules to reduce student crowding upon reopening, Rivera said the department will not mandate any one strategy for all school districts. He said the department will provide schools with a framework of multiple strategies based on research and data that they can use based on the needs of their communities.

The department intends to reopen schools, but keeping students and staff safe might mean changes that involve following state Health Department recommendations, he added. Rivera said guidelines could include smaller class sizes, in order to maintain social distancing.

The Senate hearing came as eight statewide education associations announced the creation Monday of a task force to plan for the safe reopening of schools.

The task force will look at the hurdles schools face in reopening, said Nathan Mains, chief executive officer of the Pennsylvania School Boards Association. More than 100 members of the participating associations are organized in task forces to look at various issues, he added.

The topics include potential staggering of school schedules to reduce classroom size, enhanced cleaning procedures and equipment for buildings and buses, policies on using masks and other personal protective equipment, use of air quality measuring devices and air filtration equipment, meal preparation and serving, after-school activity and student assemblies.

The task force members include PSBA, Pennsylvania State Education Association, Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators, Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials, Pennsylvania Association of Intermediate Units, Pennsylvania Principals Association, Pennsylvania Association of Career and Technical Administrators and Pennsylvania Association of Rural and Small Schools.

Senate Minority Education Chairman Andrew Dinniman, D-Chester, urged that the task force be expanded to include public charter schools, faith-based schools and private schools. He also called for the statewide creation of a voluntary retired teachers corps to help students based on a prototype in Chester County.

Senate Majority Appropriations Chairman Pat Browne, R-Lehigh, asked about demand for $5 million worth of state grants provided to help schools use online learning.

The department has distributed those grants to the neediest and most technologically remote schools, said Rivera while noting grant requests totaled $22 million. He said the department will use federal funds to help other districts with online learning initiatives.

School buildings have been closed since March under Wolf’s orders to try to stop the spread of the coronavirus, keeping more than 1.7 million public school children home and exposing big differences in the ability of wealthier and poorer districts to educate children online.