The Butler Area School District announced Wednesday when students are expected to return for in-person instruction. The announcement comes as the state updated its guidance for schools on closures related to COVID-19 and community spread.

Elementary school and Center Avenue Community School students will return Dec. 10 for live in-person instruction.

Secondary students will operate in a hybrid model starting Dec. 14 where live in-person instruction will begin for half of the students in cohorts. Secondary students will be contacted about their assigned cohort and its schedule.

Special education will continue live in-person instruction for all students.

In a video from District Superintendent Brian White, he encouraged families to look through learning pathways options for their children while keeping in mind the new guidance from the state and national level is school specific instead of grade specific and could change how closures work.

“ ... please be aware that the new guidance really changes the school operating status on a school-by- school basis not the district," White said. "This is determined by the number of active cases, which can change very quickly. Meaning that we might end up with midweek closures instead of waiting until the end of the week to let families have time.”

This is a breaking news report — read more in Friday's Butler Eagle.