Florida to allow remote learning for whole school year, state chief says

Florida’s top education official said Wednesday that students will be allowed to attend classes online through the end of the school year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, though funding for school districts remains under review.

The state’s K-12 pandemic plan for the second semester of classes will be laid out in a new emergency order, probably before Thanksgiving, Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran said at a State Board of Education meeting in Tallahassee.

“I think we are on a pretty good schedule to get that done,” Corcoran said.

The Department of Education has been working with school leaders, and Corcoran said the new order has been a “collaborative effort” that will be a “significant improvement based on our first

90, 100 days in school.” The current emergency order expires in December.

In recent weeks, parents and local school officials have called for consistency in the state’s pandemic education policies, including funding provisions that allow districts to accommodate tens of thousands of students who want to learn from home during the pandemic.

The state has not outlined the exact funding model that will be offered for the second semester.

Currently, districts receive the same amount of funding even if they see a drop in student enrollment due to COVID-19.

When asked by reporters about the money, Corcoran wouldn’t say outright that full state funding would be guaranteed for students who take classes online. He said the department was working on funding models. “We are going through that right now and working with the districts,” he said.