You and Two

• PHASE 3 STARTS MARCH 22
• P-EBT BENEFITS — SECOND ROUND
  
• BHE GROUNDBREAKING
• IMPORTANT DATES
• CHOICE ACCEPTANCE MARCH 15–19
  
• UPCOMING BOARD MEETING
  
• NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR 4K
  
• FREE COVID TESTING

Based on the 3-3-2021 Recent Disease Activity Report released by S.C. DHEC, the disease activity for Richland County is now rated low. The district’s Reopening Schools Plan calls for a switch to Phase 3 over a two-week period once the disease activity falls to low.

As we approach March 22, schools will share information with parents and students about their specific preparations for the start of Phase 3. Please be on the lookout for this communication from your child's school. Click here to review general information about Phase 3.

The Department of Social Services (DSS) and the South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE) are working to provide Pandemic EBT (P-EBT) benefits to qualifying children across South Carolina. Click here to review an FAQ about the program.

All households with potentially eligible students are strongly encouraged to validate their address in the DSS P-EBT Address Portal on or before March 19, 2021. The P-EBT Address Portal is located on the DSS website at: https://benefitsportal.dss.sc.gov/#/pebt/addressverification

To locate a child in the Address Portal the parent must have: Student Last Name, Date of Birth, PowerSchool Student ID (available in on the Grades and Attendance screen in Parent Portal), School District, and School Name.

P-EBT is an optional federal program designed to provide food benefits to children who have temporarily lost access to free and reduced-price meals at school due to school closures triggered by COVID-19. For the 2020-21 school year, eligible children will receive a P-EBT benefit based on the number of days they attend school virtually each month.

March 12 — Student Holiday/Teacher Work Day

March 15–19 — Choice I Acceptance Period

March 19 — Early Dismissal @ elementary schools

March 22 – Start of Phase 3

March 25 & 26 — Asynchronous eLearning Days for students/Vaccine Clinic for Richland Two employees

Any parent who submitted Choice Applications for the 2021–2022 school year, must log back into their account between Monday, March 15, 2021, 8 a.m. and Friday, March 19, 2021, 5 p.m. to check the status of the application and accept or decline any programs your student(s) were accepted into. Your student(s) will not be considered as attending the program without your acceptance.

The Richland Two Board of Trustees will hold a regularly scheduled board meeting on March 9. Executive Session begins at 5:30 p.m. and Public Session is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.

The meeting will be held in the Conference Center at R2i2 located at 763 Fashion Drive, Columbia, 29229. In order to allow for social distancing due to COVID-19, the seating capacity for the members of the public who wish to attend the meeting in-person is limited to 30. Individuals attending the meeting must wear face masks.

In case that capacity is reached and to provide members of the public the ability to watch the meeting from the safety of their home, the meeting will also be streamed live at http://www.richland2.org/livestream.

Click the following link to view the agenda for the March 9 Board Meeting:

http://go.boarddocs.com/sc/rsd2/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=BWCKB55105AC

Public Participation is on the agenda for the regularly scheduled meeting on March 9. The Board sets aside a maximum of 30 minutes (15 minutes at the beginning and 15 minutes prior to the end of the public portion of the meeting). As each speaker is allotted three minutes, Public Participation will be limited to the first 10 people who sign up to speak (five during the first Public Participation and five during the second Public Participation). The sign-up to speak will open at 5 p.m. and close at 5:45 p.m. on March 9 in the lobby of R2i2.

PAST MEETINGS: Click here to view the video of the Feb. 23 meeting and here to read the minutes from the meeting.

UPCOMING MEETING: Board Meeting on March 23, 2021

If you have a child who will be 4 on or before Sept. 1, don't miss out on the chance to apply for 4K. The Richland Two Center for Child Development offers free 4K Child Development Classes to students who qualify based on developmental readiness, free- or reduced-price meal status or other risk factors.

The application will close on Friday, March 26, 2021. Placements are for the 2021-2022 school year. Space is limited so do not wait to apply. Children must be 4 on or before September 1 to apply.