⁍ Duval County schools will be open five days a week starting August 10.
⁍ Middle and high schools will run on a hybrid schedule, which won’t require daily attendance at a brick-and-mortar school.
⁍ Families have been given until Friday to decide whether their children will go to school in person or online.
– “I don’t want to plan a funeral for anyone in my family, or let alone from my school. The people at my school are my family.” Those are the words of a teacher in Duval County, Fla., who is among those calling for a delay in the start of the school year as the state reels from an outbreak of coronavirus. The virus, which causes vomiting and fevers, has killed at least 13 people in Florida and sickened hundreds more, CNN reports. Elementary schools in Duval County will be open five days a week starting Aug. 10, but teachers and parents say they want to delay in-person teaching until at least 14 days have passed without new cases. “There may be other cities or countries who are going back to school, but their case numbers of Covid-19 are so low,” says Rolline Sullivan, a mother of four. “The biggest thing I think that is missing is the science of it.” Superintendent Tim Forson says about 12% of parents in his district have decided to send their children to virtual learning instead of going to school in person, but he’s not so sure. “I have hesitations,” he says. “The fact that it’s not just your child, it’s my child.”