Florida school boards and charter school governing boards must open their brick-and-mortar schools this August with a full panopoly of services to students and families, according to an executive order that Florida Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran signed yesterday, Monday, July 6.
The goal of Executive Order 2020-EO-06 is not only to reopen brick-and-mortar schools with full panoply of services for students and families, but also to
- “suspend and adjust as necessary reporting requirements to ensure appropriate monitoring and financial continuity of the educational process,”
- “retain high-quality school choices for Florida students and families with a focus on eliminating achievement gaps, which may have been exacerbated by the crisis” and
- “maintain services that are legally required for all students, such as low-income, English language learning, and students with disabilities.”
To receive the flexibility and continuity provided for in the executive order, school boards must submit their reopening plans to the Florida Department of Education, and charter schools to their respective sponsoring district.
The submission of reopening plans and approval of those plans doesn’t constitute a waiver of state statutes regarding instructional days and hours. Rather, the approval demonstrates how the district or school adheres to those statues and rules, the executive order states.
The executive order doesn’t require a district or charter school to submit a plan if these institutions want to open in traditional compliance with statutory requirements for instructional days and hours.
Schools must be open at least five days a week, subject to advice and orders of the DOE, local departments of health, Executive Order 20-149 and subsequent executive orders. If these directives are absent, the day-to-day decision to open or close a school falls upon the school board or charter governing board.
School districts and charter governing boards with an approved reopening plan will receive reporting flexibility that is designed to provide financial continuity for the 2020 fall semester, Executive Order 2020-EO-06 states.
The Orange County School Board is conducting a work session meeting pertaining to its district’s reopening plan today, Tuesday, July 7, starting at noon. The meeting will live stream on the OCPS Boardmeetings YouTube channel.
