South Florida won’t mandate in-person school

Broward, Palm Beach county districts looking at alternative reopening plans

South Florida students won’t be required to return to brick-andmortar classrooms next month, despite a state order issued Monday that mandates the opening of school five days a week when the new school year starts.

The order leaves the decision to local officials based on health considerations. South Florida school officials say it would be difficult to have everyone return to school safely as the coronavirus pandemic continues its relentless spread.

“We do not see a realistic path” to every school in the county opening five days a week this fall, Superintendent Robert Runcie said during a Broward School Board workshop on Tuesday.

“We will never compromise the health and safety of our students, teachers and staff,” he said.

Even though Gov. Ron DeSantis wants schools to operate in the fall as they did before the pandemic, the Broward and Palm Beach county school districts are looking at three alternative reopening plans: full-time, in-classroom learning, with students permitted to learn from home if their families so choose; full-time learning on-line for everyone; and a combination, called the “hybrid,” in which students would learn online two or three days a week and in-classroom on the other days.

Miami-Dade schools will not open their school buildings until the county enters Phase 2 of reopening after the pandemic, the district announced this week. Mi

ami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach are currently in Phase 1, with limited openings of restaurants and other businesses.

Many teachers remain uncomfortable about returning to their classrooms. The Broward Teachers Union has asked the school district to continue remote-only learning.

“Schools will be a breeding ground for COVID-19,” union president Anna Fusco said in a letter to Runcie over the weekend. “I’m asking you to redirect the district leaders working on the reopening plans to shift gears and plan to open with distance learning for all students and not reopen school sites.”

The new school year starts Aug. 19 in Broward; Aug. 10 in Palm Beach and Aug. 24 in Miami-Dade.

“The clock is ticking for all of us,” Broward board member Heather Brinkworth said Tuesday. “There is a lot of anxiety,” among teachers not sure if they will be in their classrooms, and parents who want to know where and how their kids will be learning next year, she said.

Broward parent Ilan Matsas urged the board on Tuesday to reopen school buildings.

“Thousands of parents are not scared to send their kids to school,” he said. “If we take school away on a full-time basis, I can’t imagine the damage that will be done.”

The new state order said all students must have the option of a traditional school calendar.

That requirement, however, could be waived if local or state health departments deem such plans unsafe, according to the order signed by Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran.

Schools are currently grappling with how to reopen campuses — shuttered in March to stop the spread of the coronavirus — in the face of rising cases in Florida. The state’s total number of cases grew by 7,347 on Tuesday, down from the record 11,458 new cases on Saturday. The change came as fewer people were tested over the holiday weekend, due to the closing of state-supported testing sites. Still, the percentage of people infected reached 20.8% statewide, the highest yet for a single day.

The Florida Department of Education must approve districts’ reopening plans, unless districts choose to operate on a traditional plan as they did before the pandemic crisis.

Florida’s new order was issued the same day President Donald Trump tweeted, “SCHOOLS MUST OPEN IN THE FALL!!!” and also that Democrats “don’t want to open schools in the Fall for political reasons, not for health reasons!”

In Broward, the school district has been surveying parents on their preferences for reopening school. Although the survey continues through July 10, initial results show 26% want remote learning, 34% want face-to-face and 37% favor the hybrid option.

The district is looking at each school’s results to figure out how many spaces are available at each site for in-person learning, making sure to spread children six feet apart in a classroom. The district says most classrooms would have room for 14 students.

Even if many students choose online learning, some schools won’t have room for every student who wants in-person instruction. Students at these schools either will be able to attend a nearby school with room or apply for reassignment to a school with space, Runcie said Tuesday.

Broward will make a final decision on plans for the fall semester later this month or in early August, officials said on Tuesday.