Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran, a Republican and former speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, issued the order Monday. “School districts and charter school governing boards must provide the full array of services that are required by law so that families who wish to educate their children in a brick and mortar school full time have the opportunity to do so,” the order states.
Many districts, including the Miami-Dade school system, have proposed offering options for schooling, including hybrid models that would incorporate online and in-person learning. The order requires schools to offer full-time instruction “at least” five days a week for families who desire it.
The order leaves room for local health officials to override the state order, which won praise from Miami-Dade Superintendent Alberto Carvalho, who called the order “fair and measured.”
The announcement comes the same day President Donald Trump tweeted, “SCHOOLS MUST OPEN IN THE FALL!!!” In a later tweet, he said those hesitating to reopen schools amid a global pandemic were politically motivated: “Corrupt Joe Biden and the Democrats don’t want to open schools in the Fall for political reasons, not for health reasons! They think it will help them in November. Wrong, the people get it!”
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos backed the president’s statement. “Absolutely right, @POTUS! Learning must continue for all students. American education must be fully open and fully operational this fall!” she tweeted.
Fedrick Ingram, president of the Florida Education Association, the state’s largest teachers union, said his members also want to see schools reopened, as long as they have the resources and guidance to make it safe.
“At the end of the day we want our schools open,” Ingram said. “We want our schools open with safety in mind first and with the proper funding to provide those safety measures.”
But he added that he was concerned, given Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’s response to the pandemic, that state leaders would not be “guided by science.”
Teachers unions across the country are pressing school districts to allow teachers to opt out of teaching in person. Many parents are eager to see their children return to school, but some are telling districts that they’re not ready to let their kids back on campus, especially in places where the virus is surging.
The pandemic shuttered nearly every school in the United States in March, with many schools moving online with shaky curriculum plans. Educators say they fear that vulnerable children – especially those who are homeless, come from low-income households or have special-education needs – would fall even further behind their peers, with many lacking stable home environments, Internet access or the technology necessary for successful online learning.
As the new academic year approaches, schools are facing myriad challenges and pressures as they formulate back-to-school plans, contending not just with the looming danger of the virus but also drastic funding cuts in many states that have seen revenue plunge. Many of the measures public health officials recommend to reduce transmission of the virus – staying six feet apart, washing hands frequently, wearing masks – seem logistically difficult in schools that were overcrowded before the pandemic began.
(c) 2020, The Washington Post · Moriah Balingit
{Matzav.com}
I am sorry that some people feel their children are disposable in order to make a political statement, but, well, some parents sacrificed theirs to moloch. Nothing new under the sun.
Speak for yourself.
Just because someone doesn’t believe the danger in sending their child to school when Corona is around outweighs the danger in keeping then home doesn’t make them sacrificing their children for politics or anything else.
Frankly those who want people locked up seemed far more politically motivated than those who don’t
What is the danger in keeping them home? Please elucidate to us and our children, because non-entitled brats have difficulty in understanding you. Our grand-grandparents etc. did exactly that, plus they tended to the cow. They also taught to read to every child including girls, and after that, kids would study on their own (after an exhausting day of work, which probably only a professional athlete can relate to) and be grateful for having the opportunity to discuss. I also have children, live in a tiny place, and I am not whining nor are my kids. I am glad I have electrical power and that I don’t have a cow and chickens to care for.
so do you care about your parents at all? uncles and aunts? also you think children dont have undiagnosed immune issues that could be life threatening with corona?
Did flu epidemics, more dangerous for kids, ever close down a school year?
This has nothing to do medically and everything to do with eradicating “the invisible enemy” (elite criminals) as President Trump refers to corona virus.
The bigger question: How come politicians are giving updates on the situation rather than doctors, medical professor and hospital staff. People asked several famous big hospitals whether they provided information to the politician. They all said, they were never asked. So there you go.
the difference is corona is highly contagious and kids would then spread it to others like older adults aka grandparents and elderly neighbors etc. the flu in 2018 to 2019 kill 34200. compare that with Corona 133000 deaths and it has only been what 5-6 months? and corona is highly contagious.
Florida daily covid19 fatalities are in the same range as they have been for the last few months. Therefore, “cases soaring” is a socialist-fascist manipulation technique, designed for the individuals with IQ below 85, who are incapable of following the actual death numbers. Can’t use the “time lag” argument either, since the cases in Florida has been supposedly going up for a month, way longer than the 2-weeks infection-to-death time. Besides, how many children without health conditions died from covid19?-the answer is 0. Don’t bother with bringing the Kawasaki disease, as it is never lethal and rarely with complications, and hasn’t been connected to covid19 by any clinical peer-reviewed studies. Schools opening, especially in Florida, doesn’t endanger the regular healthy kids in any way; therefore the only reason to keep the schools closed is the socialist-fascists getting high on power.
Congratulations to the great state of Florida for electing a governor with enough guts to stand up to the socialist-fascist Dumborats.
Usually fascist and stalinists with a low IQ are keen to MANDATE schools and high IQ overachievers, especially if Jewish, will arrange their own education for their kids. Wonder what happened that the world turned upside down. Wait, maybe it didn’t.
TRIPLE OF TRIPLE OF TRIPLE DITTOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes, a full “Thumbs Up!!” and “Congratulations!!” to the government of the State of Florida for doing here what is absolutely the right thing. As you point out, a huge amount of all these (supposed) “surge” numbers are complete fabrications. Furthermore, these “Lockdowns” are not the right way at all to deal with this Covid-19 crises; on the contrary, they just make the bad situation gravely worse. Even more furthermore, they are not necessary, for there most certainly are many other much more effective treatments for the disease.
The realm of Natural Medicine has many excellent techniques and remedies that, Lord Willing, very sharply reduce the problem and, in numerous instances, even totally prevent & cure it. Yet in all the endless government Covid announcements and endless mainstream media reports, NOT EVEN ONE WORD WAS EVER MENTIONED about the Natural Medical options!! On the contrary, alternative media websites (which heavily talk about natural cures) were banned and booted off Facebook and YouTube. And, medical clinics which were treating Covid patients with natural remedies, were shut down and their doctors were thrown in jail!!
It soon became well known about a certain old pharmaceutical medication, Hydroxychloroquine, which, when given with the natural mineral Zinc, showed dramatic success in curing Covid-19 cases. So, President Trump himself openly declared that he would
use it. Yet, Anthony Fauci & Co. and their Democratic governor cronies sharply rejected it and even jailed doctors who prescribed it.
As all these official officials so vehemently rebuffed and forbade and suppressed and hindered these clear solutions to the Covid crises, and, instead insisted on lockdowns and lockdowns and more lockdowns, this glaringly shows that they do not want a solution to the crises. And it further glaringly shows that their interest in lockdowns is not because they believe it is a good medical treatment but rather because it is a most superb way to smash down and ruin and tyrannize the population.
So, we are certainly immensely happy that, Boruch Hashem, the government of the State of Florida has pulled away from doing that.