Seminole County Public Schools approves back-to-school plan, later start date

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — Seminole County Public Schools approved a plan Tuesday evening for the upcoming school year, which includes starting the school year later than previously planned, on Aug. 17.

Under the approved plan, parents may choose to send their children back to school in a traditional face-to-face learning, or they can enroll in Seminole Connect, a remote learning tool on a set schedule with the option to go back to traditional school after a quarter.

Read: Florida mother loses two children in less than two weeks to coronavirus

A third option is Seminole Virtual School, which is fully online and allows students to get their work done on a more flexible schedule.

A fourth option combines face-to-face learning with some virtual school classes.

Seminole County Public Schools has approved plan models for upcoming school year. Now discussing how to adjust calendar to possibly start school sometime later in August instead of the 10th. pic.twitter.com/RNPVbrNtHf
— Jeff Deal (@JDealWFTV) July 14, 2020

The school year was set to begin Aug. 10, but under the state mandate, districts have to offer classroom learning sometime in august.

Families have until July 24 at noon to decide which option they want to choose, and register so the district can set up schedules, and decide how many teachers will return to the classroom and how many will be needed to teach courses virtually.

Earlier this month, the district sent out a survey to teachers to provide feedback on a 38-page final draft of the school district’s reopening plan.

The plan includes everything from social distancing guidelines to cleaning protocols and contingency plans for the district’s estimated 10,000 employees.

READ: Keeping track of back-to-school plans in Central Florida

Teachers rallied in the parking lot outside the school district headquarters saying that they want the board to open schools safely.

The teacher’s union said there are some gaps in terms of safety that need to be addressed first. Some board members said they feel that they may need to delay the start of school because of the rise in positive cases and in order to address some of those issues.

For parents of the district’s 67,000 students who are not sure about sending their children back to the classroom, there will also be a virtual school option.