“I don’t think I will have a school district in the state that is going to be virtual for the entire semester,” DeSantis said during an education roundtable.
TALLAHASSEE – Florida’s largest school district will begin the fall semester with remote classes, joining others who keep the campus closed even when Governor Ron DeSantis insists that the state will have in-person learning.
Miami Dade County Superintendent of Schools Alberto Carvalho announced the move Wednesday, a day after nearby Monroe County said it would depend on digital instruction for the foreseeable future. School leaders in Broward and Palm Beach counties, which along with Miami are the most popular places in the Covid-19 state, also intend to start the school year with online courses.
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Despite the fact that four major counties chose to close the campus as the state works to beat the coronavirus, DeSantis and the state Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran was firm in his confidence that physical schools will reopen this fall.
The DeSantis administration has said it will withhold state funds from schools that do not physically open, but the Republican governor on Wednesday downplayed the possibility that districts actually lose funds.
“I don’t think I will have a school district in the state that is going to be virtual for the entire semester,” DeSantis said during an education roundtable at a special needs school in Clearwater.
A viral surge in Miami Dade County has prompted the district to keep its nearly 350,000 students off campus until at least October, Carvalho told school board members Wednesday.
Miami Dade reported 2,801 new coronavirus infections Wednesday, with a total of 112,261 cases and 1,455 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
The state as a whole released a record 216 deaths from Covid-19 on Wednesday and 9,446 new cases, according to the Florida Department of Health.
Carvalho said the school district will decide on September 30 if the classes can meet again starting October 5. Miami Dade, along with all Florida school districts, has planned a combination of online and face-to-face classes during the 2020-21 school, largely delayed. year, driven by an emergency order from the Department of Education.
“We are prepared, but we must delay,” said Carvalho.
Miami Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties remain in the most restricted reopening phase in Florida.
Monroe County, which includes Key West, will also keep schools closed, even though it has had dramatically fewer cases compared to other districts. Monroe reported 22 new Covid-19 infections on Wednesday and 1,171 cases overall. Six coronavirus-related deaths have been reported in Monroe.
Monroe’s approximately 8,800 students will enroll in classes strictly online for at least the first few weeks of the school year, Superintendent Theresa Axfor announced Tuesday.
“Our concern for the safety of our students and staff, along with advice from the health department, has led to this decision,” said Axford.
Monroe’s closure could test Florida’s reopening emergency order for schools, a policy that has met with confusion and opposition. The Florida Education Association is suing the state over the request, while local school boards compete for the power to control school closings.
When asked by journalists whether the order will cause schools not to reopen to lose funds, DeSantis and Corcoran reiterated on Wednesday that the policy gives districts flexibility to implement online courses, which current law does not. Both have argued that schools should open to give parents the option of face-to-face classes.
“I am sure there will be a presence in person [classes] across the state, “DeSantis said.
