We鈥檙e smack in the middle of July. Coronavirus cases, as of today, are rising in 39 states. 69传媒 face intense鈥攁nd divisive鈥攑ressure to say how they will provide learning this fall.
A growing number of school systems are releasing their plans with Los Angeles Unified and San Diego Unified鈥攖wo of the biggest鈥攁nnouncing Monday that they will start 2020-21 in full remote learning.
Education Week is collecting reopening plans from districts as they are announced. Reopening plans can take many forms, but for simplicity, we have organized them into 3 main categories: remote learning only; full, in-person instruction available to all students, and hybrid (combo of remote/in-person). If your district has announced its formal plans for reopening, please send a link to the district鈥檚 announcement to library@educationweek.org.
You can also browse our fuller, working list of district plans that we are updating regularly.
Here鈥檚 a sampling from across the country of how school districts will reopen.
Remote learning only
- Los Angeles Unified: The second largest school district with just under 500,000 students will begin the school year with everyone learning remotely. : 鈥淭here鈥檚 a public health imperative to keep schools from becoming a petri dish.鈥�
- San Diego Unified: Superintendent Cindy Marten joined Los Angeles Unified鈥檚 Beutner .
- Metropolitan Nashville schools (Nashville, Tenn.): The 85,000-student district had originally announced plans to reopen with a hybrid plan that gave parents the choice of in-person or remote instruction, but changed course to decide it will spend at least the first month of the school year in all-remote mode. 69传媒 start online Aug. 4, which leaders said would last at least through Labor Day. 鈥淲e are prepared to return to in-person learning as soon as conditions allow,鈥� Adrienne Battle, the district鈥檚 director of schools, .
- Palm Beach County schools (Palm Beach, Fla.): The school board was unanimous in signing off on the all-remote approach to reopening for this 193,000-student district in Florida where the virus is raging. Said : 鈥淲e鈥檙e truly not ready. We鈥檙e not ready from a health standpoint. And we鈥檙e not ready from a planning standpoint.鈥�
- MSD Washington Township schools (Indianapolis, Ind.): The district reversed course from plans to reopen with some in-person instruction to an all-remote reopening after seeing rising numbers of virus cases in the state. 鈥�Experts caution that students themselves may become infected and that even if they do not become seriously ill they may pass the virus to adults with whom they reside, including those who are immunocompromised or are vulnerable for other reasons,鈥� . 鈥淲e acknowledge in this regard that our African American families are particularly at risk.鈥�
- Mesa Public 69传媒 (Mesa, Ariz.): The district said in early July that it will reopen Aug. 4 with only remote instruction for its 63,000 students. 鈥�Remote learning will continue until it is safe to provide modified or in-person instruction,鈥� Superintendent Andi Fourlis.
Full, in-person instruction available for all students
- Miami-Dade schools (Miami, Fla.): The district is giving parents of its 350,000 students , up to five days a week, depending on the enrollment and space limitations in each school.
- Shelby County schools (Memphis, Tenn.): Parents in this 112,000-student district can . The choice parents make will stand for the entire fall semester.
- Cobb County schools, (Marietta, Ga.): The 111,000-student district is offering parents two choices: face-to-face instruction, five days a week or fully remote instruction. If parents opt for in-person schooling, students will be strongly urged to wear masks. 鈥�This year will be like none other, and I am confident the plan to start the 2020-2021 school year is based on the needs of students and gives parents the flexibility to make the choice that is best for them,鈥� said .
- Davis Public 69传媒 (Farmington, Utah): The 74,000-student district is , five days a week with remote learning options for parents who don鈥檛 feel it鈥檚 safe to send their children to school.
- Little Rock schools (Little Rock, Ark.): is available to all 23,000 students in this district, as is a fully remote option.
Hybrid plan (combination of some in-person instruction/remote learning)
- New York City schools: The largest district with roughly 1 million students will limit classroom attendance to 1-3 days per week, with students still doing much of their learning from home. This will continue indefinitely. Parents can opt for all-remote learning.
- Columbus City 69传媒 (Columbus, Ohio): In this 49,000-student district, . All high school students will learn remotely full time for the first two quarters of the school year. Families of K-8 students may opt for all-virtual schooling.
- Des Moines Public 69传媒 (Des Moines, Iowa): between an all-virtual learning option for the first term of the school year, which runs through Oct. 28, or a hybrid option which will provide a mix of some in-person instruction and some virtual learning. For K-8 students, the 34,000-student district has devised a schedule that has students at school two days a week, and home three days. For high school, students in each grade level will physically attend classes one day a week and learn from home the remaining four.
- Fairfax County schools (Fairfax, Va.): Virginia鈥檚 largest district with 188,000 students: full-time, online learning or a combination of some in-person instruction and remote learning.
- Klein Independent schools (Klein, Texas): Parents in this 53,000-student district must .
- Scott County schools (Forest, Miss.): The (10 days later than it had planned) with partial live attendance. For the first full week of school, half of the district鈥檚 students will attend Mondays/Wednesdays, the other half on Tuesdays/Thursdays, with everyone learning from home on Fridays. The district intends for all students to attend school starting Aug. 17.
Photo: Child-care worker Paula Saavedra checks a student鈥檚 temperature last month at the entrance to the Chase Avenue School in El Cajon, Calif. --Ariana Drehsler for Education Week
Education Week intern Hannah Farrow and Librarian Holly Peele contributed research for this report.
Related 69传媒:
Data: When Will School Start This Fall?
The Socially Distanced School Day
Scheduling the COVID-19 School Year
Getting Kids to School: Tackling the COVID-19 Transportation Problem