No change in order: The Florida Department of Education is not backing off its order that school districts must offer in-school instruction five days a week to any student who wants it when schools are reopened in August. “They absolutely should have that option, and it will not come out of the emergency order,” Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran said at Wednesday’s Board of Education meeting. The only exception is if state or local health departments decide that reopening schools isn’t safe. Several board members were critical of the order, saying it sparked confusion and fear. Corcoran attributed that to misreporting by the print media. Gov. Ron DeSantis also spoke at the meeting and again insisted reopening is safe because children are at low risk of getting sick. Orlando Sentinel. News Service of Florida. Politico Florida. Tampa Bay Times. Florida Politics. WPTV. WKMG. WMFE. WTVT. Florida Politics. The board also approved a change in the rules for the Hope Scholarship for bullied students. Districts have been required to tell parents about the scholarship within 15 days of a bullying incident and give them the form that’s needed to qualify. After many parents said they were never notified, the state decided to change the rules to also require districts to report how many families they have informed. redefinED.
Reopening schools: Florida school boards are considering and approving district reopening plans, which must be submitted to the Florida Department of Education by July 31. Here are the latest developments:
Miami-Dade County: Superintendent Alberto Carvalho declared during a school board meeting Wednesday that, “We’re not in a position to reopen schools,” and that if pandemic conditions didn’t improve in the next six weeks they will not be reopened. Carvalho listed eight criteria that must be met before students return to classrooms. Among them: a sustained positive test rate in the county of 10 percent or less for 14 days, a reduction in hospitalizations, a reduction in ICU bed occupancy, and a turnaround time of 48 hours or less on tests. “We will be ready for school on Aug. 24,” Carvalho said. “Exactly how? That’s the issue that’s still being determined.” Miami Herald. WPLG. WSVN. WFOR.
Hillsborough County: Superintendent Addison Davis said he’ll ask the school board to delay the start of school by two weeks, to Aug. 24. The board meets today in a workshop session to consider the district’s proposed reopening plan. Davis also announced that the district was partnering with Tampa General Hospital and the University of South Florida Health Morsani College of Medicine, and planning to use the collaboration to help maximize safety when schools do reopen. “One lesson the pandemic has taught the global community is that our plans must be fluid to ensure the best outcomes for our individual communities,” Davis said. Gradebook. WTVT. WFLA. WTSP. WFTS.
Palm Beach County: After meeting for 10-plus hours, school board members approved the district’s plan to reopen schools and decided to postpone the first day, but delayed a final decision on how much later schools will start. They discussed resuming classes Sept. 7, then appeared to settle on Aug. 31 before agreeing to put off a decision until next Wednesday. The plan call for reopening schools with remote learning only, then slowly returning students to classrooms in phases after certain health criteria are met. Palm Beach Post. WPTV. WPEC. The county’s health director, Dr. Alina Alonso, counseled a school reopening advisory committee that schools should resume online learning instead of reopening in person in August. But when district officials asked her to put that guidance into a letter, she reportedly declined. The reason she gave? State health officials apparently don’t want to give school leaders advice about reopening schools. Palm Beach Post. WPEC.
Duval County: The school board will consider a resolution asking the state for a waiver on the requirement to hold regular drills for active shooters, bomb threats, fires and other emergencies. The board meets today for a vote on the resolution and also on the school reopening plan. WJXT.
Volusia County: When schools reopen Aug. 17, students will have the choices of attending school in person, learning virtually or staying home and following along remotely with teachers in classrooms. Temperature checks and social distancing will be required at schools, and face masks will be worn when students enter buildings, between classes and when riding buses. They will be optional during classes. But interim superintendent Carmen Balgobin cautioned that the plan could change quickly. “We all need to understand our plan is fluid,” she said. “Here’s why: What we know could change a week from now. Actually, what we know could change tomorrow.” A final board vote was delayed. Daytona Beach News-Journal. WESH.
Collier County: The district’s schools reopening plan calls for masks and safety goggles to be worn by students and staff, and students will have four learning options: in-person, home-schooling, and remote learning through either the eCollier Academy flexible or structured programs. Schools open Aug. 19. Naples Daily News. WINK. WBBH. WZVN.
Clay County: Superintendent David Broskie and school board members have agreed that the start of the school year should be delayed from Aug. 11 to Aug. 24. The board will vote on the proposal, as well as whether students should be required to wear masks, at its next meeting in two weeks. “(The delay) will give us more time to prepare, it’ll give us more time for teachers to train,” Broskie said. WJXT.
Citrus County: Students will be encouraged but not required to have masks when schools reopen Aug. 10, and can choose between in-person and remote learning through the Citrus Virtual School. Local health officials cleared the reopening, and also explained the protocols that will be used when a student or teacher tests positive. Bay News 9. Citrus County Chronicle.
St. Lucie County: The district’s reopening plan includes temperature checks, social distancing and masks when that’s not possible, one-way hallways and more. Students can choose to attend schools in-person starting Aug. 10, or one of two remote learning options. WPBF. St. Lucie County School District.
Okeechobee County: Schools restart Aug. 10 with three learning options for students: in-person with masks, online learning that follows the regular school schedule, and remote learning that is self-directed. WPTV.
Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind: The St. Augustine school’s reopening plan includes no online option. School officials said students who don’t feel safe returning to classrooms will have to enroll in a local school district. Class sizes will be smaller, sneeze guards and partitions will be installed and masks will be required when social distancing isn’t possible. WTLV.
Budget concerns: Lee County school officials said Wednesday during a budget workshop that the district’s costs to deal with the coronavirus could be up to $15 million. “What we can tell you is the budget will be changing,” said budget director Kelly Letcher. Those expenses, plus a drop in sales tax revenues and a loss of some money that was vetoed by the governor, is forcing the district to prepare for significant cuts. Fort Myers News-Press.
More on the coronavirus: Nearly 40 Lake County high school football players and adults have been quarantined for 14 days after two players on the Tavares High School football team tested positive for the coronavirus. WKMG. WOFL. WFTV. WESH. Thirteen children and four adults have been quarantined after a student in Lake County’s summer school program at Leesburg Elementary tested positive. WKMG. A custodian at the Celebration K-8 School in Osceola County tested positive. WFTV. Northwest Florida State College’s plan to reopen include mandatory masks, temperature checks and more online classes. Northwest Florida Daily News. The American Academy of Pediatrics said school districts need more than $200 billion in federal aid to safely reopen. WJXT. Associated Press. Here is the guidance being provided by states to school districts on schedules, classroom setups, masks, handwashing, meals, temperature checks and transportation. The 74.
Bus drivers get raise: St. Johns County school bus drivers are getting an 11 percent raise, and will now make between $16 and $23.93 an hour. The district needs to hire 300 drivers, and is offering bonuses after more than two months on the job. WJAX.
Superintendent’s goals: Newly chosen Sarasota County school Superintendent Brennan Asplen said one of his primary goals is to restore harmony in the district, which has seen controversies and divisiveness in the past year or two. “Everyone in the district needs to feel like a family, like we are all working together as one,” he said Wednesday. “That’s the kind of atmosphere and environment we want.”
School elections: The three contenders for the District 1 seat on the Pinellas County School Board talk about schools reopening, educational equity, diversity and more at a virtual candidate forum. St. Pete Catalyst. Florida Politics. The three candidates for the Clay County superintendent’s job talk about reopening schools, tax hikes and equity in education during a campaign luncheon. Clay Today.
Superintendent clarifies: Bay County Superintendent Bill Husfelt recently said at a public dinner that he believed being gay is a personal choice. When asked about it at this week’s school board meeting, he said he stood by the remark and added, “It doesn’t mean that I’m anti-student because someone might be gay or something like that. I’m not. You won’t find where I’ve ever treated anyone unfairly. We have gay alliance clubs in many of the schools.” WMBB.
Opinions on schools: At a time when we see the coronavirus migrating to children, some of whom have died, the threat that the state or federal government will financially punish school districts for not reopening is bullying at its worst and, possibly, its most deadly. Miami Herald. Delaying the start of the school year doesn’t hurt anyone, and even a two- or three-week pushback might create a safer environment. We all want kids back in the classrooms. Above all, though, we want everyone to feel safe. Joe Henderson, Florida Politics.
