Florida education commissioner orders Miami to open schools - The Washington Post

Florida education commissioner orders Miami to open schools - The Washington Post

Florida education commissioner orders Miami to open schools earlier than planned

Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran has ordered Miami-Dade County Public Schools to fully open its buildings five days a week by Oct. 5. That’s more than two weeks earlier than the system, the fourth largest in the country, had decided to do after a marathon 29-hour meeting last week.

In a letter sent to Perla Tabares Hantman, the school board president, and Superintendent Alberto Carvalho, Corcoran said he had “grave concerns” about the system’s decision to postpone the planned Oct. 5 opening of school buildings. The board voted Sept. 22 to open schools for some students on Oct. 14, with all students who opted to return to classrooms to be there by Oct. 21, giving the district time to put in place sufficient safety measures to prevent coronavirus outbreaks.

A school district spokeswoman said the letter was being reviewed; the school board scheduled an emergency meeting for Sept. 29 to figure out next steps.

Miami-Dade is one of a few districts that started the 2020-21 school year with all-remote learning after winning permission from the administration of Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) because of exceptionally high coronavirus rates.

Corcoran’s letter came as a surprise to Miami-Dade officials. The Miami Herald quoted Hantman as saying, “It’s just very strange to me and I think it took everyone by surprise. I’m very much in favor of opening schools but when it’s safe.”

Daisy Gonzalez-Diego, chief communications officer for the district, said in a statement emailed to The Post:

“Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) is carefully reviewing the letter received from the Commissioner of Education on Friday. The District was prepared to launch Stage II of our reopening plan, under the adjusted timeline proffered and unanimously approved by the School Board last week. However, M-DCPS will not be announcing return dates until all implications and concerns outlined in the recently received communication have been assessed and direction from the Board has been received. A special School Board meeting is being scheduled for early next week.”

DeSantis, a strong ally of President Trump, and Corcoran had set a deadline of Aug. 31 for all schools in the state to open five days a week for students who wanted to return and threatened to withhold millions of dollars in federal funding to districts that did not. Broward and Palm Beach counties in CONTINUE READING: Florida education commissioner orders Miami to open schools - The Washington Post