Minnesota's guidelines for how public schools can operate during the upcoming school year, which were announced Thursday, can be summed up in two words: it's complicated.

The ultimate decision about whether your child receives in-person learning, full-time distance learning from home or a hybrid model is up to each public school district, including charter schools. Private schools are encouraged to follow the guidelines, but are not required to.

How much in-person learning can be offered will be dictated by county COVID-19 rates and whether schools can abide by a list of social distancing, ventilation, sanitation and other safety rules laid out by the state. And that might differ depending on whether your child is in elementary, middle or high school.

School districts are also required to provide full time distance learning for families that want it for any reason, regardless of how their schools are operating.

And there's another layer of complexity — schools may need to change operations as virus case rates change throughout the year.

Some districts have already made their decisions for how the school year will begin, but others have until the week before classes start to make their announcements.

Correction: A previous version of a chart in this article misstated the population denominator in the rates being used to determine school reopening levels. It is by cases per 10,000 people.