TAMPA, Fla. -- The state is looking to stop the Hillsborough County Public Schools from starting the first four weeks of classes to online only.
It comes just a day after the Hillsborough County school board voted to start the first four weeks of classes online only and not via brick-and-mortar education.
In a letter sent to Superintendent Addison Davis and school board chair Melissa Snively, Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran says it gives him “grave concerns” when the district takes away the families’ abilities to choose the brick-and-mortar learning options.
Corcoran says making the classes online only goes against the proposal that Hillsborough County originally submitted to the state and the state had approved
Corcoran, in the letter, gave the Hillsborough County Public Schools an ultimatum: to go back to the district’s original reopening plan, submit an amended plan, withdraw the district’s plan and “proceed under the existing statutory framework.”
Below is the letter sent by Corcoran:
Davis released the following statement in response to Corcoran’s letter.
“I have received the letter from the Florida Department of Education and we are in the process of reviewing and analyzing the letter with our legal team. Yesterday, the School Board made an informed decision after receiving data and hearing from the Florida Department of Health in Hillsborough County, along with hearing the advice of other local infectious disease and public health authorities. The Board acted after serious deliberations and with all due diligence. Our district understood the possibility that such a response from the state might come and it has been clear that the district could face negative implications. We will use this information to have discussions about where we go from here."
Story developing, refresh for updates. Stay with ABC Action News for the latest.
