COVID-19 Florida Update: Governor Wants Kids In Classrooms But Undecided On School Reopening

Governor Ron DeSantis, R-Fl., has yet to decide when public schools in Florida must reopen amid the coronavirus pandemic.

During the 75-minute roundtable discussion with teachers, parents, educators, and other government leaders on Thursday, DeSantis said that he wants the kids to be in their classrooms. The governor stressed his focus on schooling as education has changed in a significant way since COVID-19.

"If it’s safe we want kids to be in school," the governor said. "Even if it’s for a couple of weeks, we think there would be value in that."

DeSantis previously announced that all public schools in Florida would be closed until May 1 to help curb the virus spread. The governor said that this order still stands, but he is hoping that things will be back to normal by then so that the kids can attend classes the traditional way.

DeSantis also expressed that health advisers in Florida may not be confident to have kids return to school in some counties. At this rate, the impact of coronavirus in the state has been uneven, with 60 percent of the cases logged in South Florida.

"It may be not every county is going to be treated the same in this," the governor said.

Many schools in Florida have undertaken online lessons to solve the problem of missing classes amid the stay-at-home orders. DeSantis commended the educators who are doing a "great job" of holding classes in this challenging period. He suggested that some schools might have to continue with distance learning, depending on the advice of the health officials.

“I think most parents want that. So, we’re going to wait and see how this develops and make a decision there," he added.

Meanwhile, some parents have launched a petition for Florida schools to pass all students for the 2019/2020 school year. The petition suggested that distance learning puts extra workload on teachers, students, and parents when other schools across America have canceled the rest of the school year.