FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - The Broward Teachers Union is pushing back against possible changes to the county’s upcoming virtual school plans.
On Wednesday during a Zoom meeting, union members expressed their concerns towards the pilot program for ESE (exceptional student education) students, saying it may be too risky.
All Broward County Public School students are planning on returning to virtual classes on Aug. 19, but there was talk of ESE returning to brick-and-mortar schools.
On Tuesday, BCPS Superintendent Robert Runcie said the positivity rate of COVID-19 in the county is too high for students to return to their school’s campus.
Instead, the district will be looking into a pilot program for the ESE students that would include willing families and teachers.
This program could start as early as Aug. 31, but the Broward Teachers Union is opposed to the plan.
“We’re definitely opposed to this proposal,” said Broward Teachers Union President Ana Fusco. “August 31 is a very short window while everybody is going to be starting online August 19, and nobody’s knowing the numbers that are going to be out there. You know, we were understanding, kind of playing around with feeling out and getting through the first quarter for everybody and looking into what was going to happen in possibly October, so we would like to keep that consistent when Mr. Runcie is having these conversations saying, ‘All will be doing e-learning online.’ We were in the understanding that it would be all.”
The Broward Teachers Union is also pushing to move back the start date of Broward schools to Aug. 31 to be consistent with Miami-Dade County Public Schools.
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