Florida Schools Reopening

K-12 schools across the greater Tampa Bay region have made some adjustments to their policies on coronavirus since the start of the school year.

Gov. Ron DeSantis said closing schools was a public blunder, and parents can choose between in-school and virtual learning.

He said schools should not be quarantining healthy students.

A three-judge panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal flatly rejected the conclusions of Leon County Circuit Judge Charles Dodson, who in August sided with teachers unions that challenged Corcoran’s order.

The governor said children "are not vectors" for spreading the coronavirus and said those who advocate school closures "are really the flat earthers of our day."

The change is an effort to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

COVID-19 has led to the cancellation of a number of Tampa Bay area football games Friday, while state universities are being told to once again prepare for virtual commencement ceremonies.

Many Pinellas County teachers say they are working long days and even weekends to try and keep up with the demands of planning courses and delivering them to two separate groups of children at the same time.

A combination of cyber attacks and software glitches have disturbed the first week of online classes for 275,000 students in district schools.

While the number of students enrolled at USF is down slightly in Fall 2020 compared to a year earlier, it's a record freshman class in terms of their academic credentials.

It includes asymptomatic people waiting for test results, or with a sick family member with whom they live.

Teachers throughout Florida are juggling in-person instruction, e-learning, and safety concerns.