Florida’s reopening plan for schools has lots of detail but defers to local decisions

Arguing that Florida’s economy depends upon it, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday unveiled a plan that expects K-12 schools to reopen in August at “full capacity.”

What that looks like will rely on decisions made by local leaders who know their communities best, he said during a news conference in Melbourne. To help them, the state offered a lengthy set of suggestions based on discussions with experts and other advisers.

That flexibility is key for school districts in South Florida, which continues to be a COVID-19 hot spot. Thursday saw the highest number of cases reported in a single day, and Miami-Dade continues to lead the state in cases and deaths.

“There are unequal conditions right now at play in the state,” said Miami-Dade Superintendent Alberto Carvalho. “I know that the viability of options, some of them requested by parents based on surveys, would rely on something other than physical schooling are also in play.”

The effort must make safety a priority, DeSantis said. Families and employees have to feel confident that returning to campus will not create health risks. The 143-page plan includes many ideas about disinfecting, cleaning and social distancing — as well as possibilities for when distancing is not possible, such as on buses.

At the same time, DeSantis and Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran stressed, the schools also must operate with a clear sense of purpose as they get back to business. Closing achievement gaps among groups of students, many of whom likely suffered learning losses during a spring of distance schooling, should drive that moral imperative, they said.

“We have a great opportunity to get back on good footing,” DeSantis said. “I know our kids have been in difficult circumstances. ... Getting back to the school year is going to be really, really important to the well-being of our kids.”

New spending is required

Accomplishing the task at hand will cost money. DeSantis discussed how the state plans to use nearly $1 billion in federal CARES Act funds for education. Schools have 12 options for spending the money they receive, including using it for cleaning supplies and providing mental health services and supports.

The governor also had a plan for some of the flexible money in the program, with a goal of targeting the achievement gap and learning losses. That includes initiatives to bolster literacy instruction in pre-kindergarten through third grade, as well as programs to boost workforce training.

“Going after the achievement gap in the way he is, is a game changer,” Corcoran said.

Carvalho said he was comforted that the plan comes with flexible funding and emphasizes overcoming the “summer slide,” or natural learning loss over summer break, exacerbated by the pandemic. He said he was “heartened” that the specific details of reopening will be left to local school districts.

“I think by and large it provides solid guidelines for the reopening,” he said. “I was pleased to see the level of attention of the financial perspective.”

To mitigate that summer slide, Miami-Dade County Public Schools will have physical schooling for students with special needs, students who were already behind academically and those who were disengaged during distance learning. They will also start the fall semester two weeks ahead of the first official day of school, which is Aug. 24.

Carvalho said during Wednesday’s School Board committee meetings that “absolutely” schools will be open by then by exercising precautions like temperature checks, social distancing and hand-washing cycles.

“We will have schools open. We will have teachers in schools. We will have students in schools ... including hybrid models that some parents are rightfully demanding,” he said. “Expect that.”

Parents want options

The school district surveyed parents to gauge what they would like school to look like this fall. The results, which Carvalho said will be made public next week, showed that an “almost identical percentage” of parents across grade levels prefer all three possibilities: Students physically in school, students remaining at home or a combination. He said parents reported that their opinion was based on professional circumstances, their ability to supervise their children and concerns about health.

Carvalho said models are currently being created to allow for physical schooling and distance learning for parents who opt out. Specifics plans (with caveats) will be made public June 24.

Report cards released June 16 will show how students fared through distance learning. The district is currently doing an analysis to determine if any interventions, such as a grading curve, are necessary.

Carvalho said at first glance, final grades — an averaged grade for all four academic quarters — and the distribution of those grades across grade levels appear to be “pretty consistent” with final grades from the 2018-19 school year. He would not comment specifically on fourth-quarter grades.

Physical schooling needs a willing workforce. In Broward, which is considering similar measures as Miami-Dade, the teacher’s union commended the governor on flexibility for counties like Broward’s that have parents with strong reservations.

As for what teachers prefer, “They’re all over the place, said Broward Teachers Union President Anna Fusco. “You have groups that want to go and you have groups that don’t.”

She said she was confident Superintendent Robert Runcie is creating a plan that can accommodate everyone and provide a quality education. That plan will be revealed at a School Board workshop Wednesday.

Immediate feedback

After the governor’s announcement, social media lit up with responses. Some of it was favorable, as parents look to get their children back to marching band, sports and other activities.

But criticism and questions also emerged. Some people raised concerns that full schools could be unhealthy.

The state plan makes several specific recommendations to address such worries. Among them, it proposes a maximum distance between desks as possible; avoidance of sharing of textbooks, supplies and toys; creation of a disinfection protocol for throughout the day; and the conversion of cafeterias, libraries, gymnasiums, auditoriums and outdoor areas into classroom space as feasible.

Some suggested the state was pandering to parents who depend on schools as child care for their children. Others contended that the drive to eliminate the achievement gap is code for a return to testing, where those gaps are determined.

Corcoran said the state’s approach is measured, with a goal of getting children into the learning environment that works best.

“We’re going to be smart, we’re going to be safe, we’re going to do it step by step,” Corcoran said, echoing DeSantis’ words for his reopening plan. “We want schools fully opened in the fall because there is no better way to educate our children than to have that teacher in front of that child.”

Tampa Bay Times staff writer Marlene Sokol contributed to this story.

This story was originally published June 11, 2020 at 6:34 PM.