Most Florida Children Expected To Attend Traditional Schools

TALLAHASSEE, FL — Florida's Commissioner of Education on Monday ordered all "brick and mortar schools" to reopen in August but also gave school districts flexibility to use what officials described as "innovative teaching methods" to educate children.

"Upon reopening in August, all school boards and charter school governing boards must open brick and mortar schools at least five days per week for all students, subject to advice and orders of the Florida Department of Health, local departments of health, Executive Order 20-149 and subsequent executive orders," Florida Department of Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran said in his emergency order.

"Absent these directives, the day-to-day decision to open or close a school must always rest locally with the board or executive most closely associated with a school, the superintendent or school board in the case of a district-run school, the charter governing board in the case of a public charter school or the private school principal, director or governing board in the case of a nonpublic school."

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in June announced the return of classroom learning for children in the state under a plan that will focus on closing the achievement gap.

"Getting back on our feet in the school year, I think, is going to be really, really important for the well being of our kids, but I also think it's important for a lot of parents who had to juggle an awful lot over these last couple months," the governor said at the time.

Patch readers overwhelmingly said in an informal survey published Monday that it is too soon to send kids back to Florida classrooms.

A Florida Department of Education spokesperson told patch the state has a moral imperative to return schools to full operation by August.

"We simply cannot give into fear of the unknown and just stop trying," the spokesperson said. "Our children’s education, the comprehensive health of our families — mental health and stability in homes — and our economy are all depending on us to make every effort to reopen our school campuses."

Miami-Dade County Public Schools Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho, whose district is in the epicenter of Florida's coronavirus outbreak, called Corcoran's order fair and measured.

"It allows for different instructional models, traditional schoolhouse as well as other innovative options and guarantees fiscal stability during a highly unpredictable time, the first quarter of the year," Carvalho said, adding the order aligns with his district's recently approved reopening plan, which he described as placing strong consideration on local health conditions and parental choice.

Corcoran's order waived the requirement for school districts to establish a "uniform and fixed date" for the opening and closing of schools as well as the requirement to operate for a minimum of 180 days as long as districts have an approved reopening plan.

The order states school districts must provide the "full array of services" required by law so families who wish to educate their children in a traditional brick and mortar school full time have the opportunity to do so.

"These services include in-person instruction, barring a state or local health directive to the contrary, specialized instruction and services for students with individualized education programs or live synchronous or asynchronous instruction with the same curriculum as in-person instruction and the ability to interact with a student's teacher and peers as approved by the commissioner of education," the order states.

The order states that "students who are receiving instruction through innovative teaching methods" must be given additional support as well as the opportunity to transition to another teaching method if they fail to make adequate progress.

Each school district must submit a reopening plan to the state that satisfies the order while each charter school governing board must submit a reopening plan to its sponsoring school district.

"In reviewing and approving plans, the department will also consider factors, including but not limited to, the percentage of students in the district who are projected to learn through live synchronous or asynchronous instruction, the quality of proposed progress monitoring data and efforts to close achievement gaps," according to the order.

While the order anticipates most Florida students will return to full-time brick and mortar schools, it recognizes some parents will continue their child's education through "innovative learning environments" as a result of the medical vulnerability of their children or another family member who lives with them in the same household.