Students won’t return to school until April 15, statewide testing canceled, governor announces

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis announced on Tuesday that K-12 schools in Florida will not resume class until April 15.

All statewide testing will also be canceled, and parents can choose to hold their children back a grade if they want, DeSantis said.

Eyewitness News talked to parents who said they don’t know how they’ll manage childcare for so long, and how the governor’s plans for virtual learning will function with their lives.

“I work, my wife works, so we just have to see how that fits in,” said Sufyan Mustafa, a parent.

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DeSantis said during his daily address he is allowing school districts to redirect some funds to help students mitigate the impact of COVID-19 should they need help with digital learning tools.

Sumter schools are one of four districts statewide that will start E-learning on March 23. Volusia, Osceola and Lake counties have all indicated they plan to start virtual school on March 30.

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The governor said he is also allowing parents to have their children repeat a grade, but Mustafa said he and his wife will make sure that doesn’t happen with their children.

“Even throughout the summers in the past, we always prepare them for the next grade, so I don’t think that’s an issue,” he said.

School districts took to social media to alert parents of the update.

Other parents said they’ll just try to juggle all the stress, and not let their children see them sweat it.

“Our children feel our pressures and anxieties whether we want them to or not, so I try not to exude any fear or anything like that,” Thomas Gray said.

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