The Florida government has mandated that all public schools be reopened for in-person instruction in the fall and sets forth the requirements that schools must meet if they wish to provide remote learning.
The Tallahassee Democrat reported Monday that the edict was issued by state education commissioner Richard Corcoran. Local health officials may override their decision based on the rate of new coronavirus cases in their counties.
“All school boards and charter school boards must open physical schools in August at least five days a week for all students,” Corocoran said, according to the newspaper.
Its directive comes when the state exceeds 200,000 cases of coronavirus. A record of more than 11,000 days in a single day was reported on Saturday.
Education Department officials told newspapers that schools should not be selected if other public spaces are reopened.
“Logically, I don’t think they can say that schools are not safe if they allow people to go out into the public,” a spokesman for the Department of Education told the newspaper.
“If they cannot open locally, we will work with the districts to continue their Continuity Instruction Plan (ICP) or to determine alternative options,” the spokesperson added.
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