Aug. 31 will be first day of public school in Palm Beach County

Public school in Palm Beach County will start Aug. 31, the latest date in decades, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.

School Board members agreed Wednesday they hope starting virtual lessons at the end of August, three weeks later than planned, will give students more in-person class time later in the year, when school buildings are more likely to be open post-pandemic. The last day of school would be June 18.

School usually ends in late May or early June. Boca Raton parent David Canfield told the board he is concerned about this new June end date. He said Florida universities typically have their orientations and begin their summer sessions in June.

“Please consider the graduating seniors and the fact that they will have no summer,” he said. “This is not right or acceptable.”

The board told Canfield seniors typically end their school year a few weeks earlier than the rest of the student population, so his child should have some time off before heading to college.

The board also agreed to offer teachers seven days of training before the first day of class, two more than originally announced, so they would be better prepared for the school district’s plan to offer all classes online until the virus lessens. Schools closed abruptly in March at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and many teachers struggled to transition students to online learning.

During those two days, teachers would contact their new students, set up lessons in Google Classrooms and get extra training in mental health concerns spurred by COVID-19 and race-relations issues that have surfaced since the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25, said Keith Oswald, deputy superintendent.

The extra work days still must be approved by the Classroom Teachers Association union.

The later start also allows time for the delivery of 82,000 laptop computers to be used at home by needy students. Those deliveries are expected to begin Aug. 17.

How to start school as coronavirus continues to surge has become an agonizing problem for school districts in South Florida and across the country. Many parents wanted the option of in-person classes, but school boards in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade have decided to start the year online.

Palm Beach County is planning a gradual reintroduction of students to school buildings when officials deem it safe to return. Prekindergarten, kindergarten, first-grade, sixth-grade and ninthgrade students would come back to classes first, followed by students in second, third, seventh and 10th grades. The remaining grades would return after that.

Some parents of disabled students are asking the board to bring their children back early in the reintroduction process.

Parent Randy Maale asked the board to allow students with special-education plans to come back when Palm Beach County enters Phase 2 of reopening. The county is now in Phase 1.

“You can avoid more tax money being spent on lawsuits,” he said.

The board plans to discuss the return of disabled students at a future meeting.