WATCH: Brevard Public Schools Moves Back Start Date of 2020-2021 School Year to August 24
By Space Coast Daily // July 21, 2020
ABOVE VIDEO: School Board Meeting 7/21/2020
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – The Brevard County School Board unanimously approved delaying the start of the 2020-21 school year to August 24, 2020.
Students were originally scheduled to return to school on August 11th with teachers reporting August 3rd.
By utilizing previously scheduled professional development and teacher workdays, teachers will now have an additional four days of preplanning time for a total of two weeks.
Adjustments to the school calendar are as follows:
– Teachers’ first day moves from August 3 to August 10, 2020
–First day moves from August 11 to August 24, 2020 for students in grades 1-12
–First day of Kindergarten is August 27 and Prekindergarten is August 31
–Students’ last day of school moves from May 31 to June 3, 2021
–Moves non-student workdays 10/12/20, 2/15/21, 3/22/21 and 5/28/21 to beginning of teacher calendar
–Second semester will now end after Memorial Day on June 3, 2021
Early release dates will remain the same, as will contracted holidays. However, winter break will be reduced from 12 days to 10 days from December 18, 2020 – January 1, 2021, with staff and students returning on Monday, January 4, 2021.
The change will also affect the timing of first semester exams, which will now take place after winter break (January 13-15). In addition, the new calendar does not align with Eastern Florida State College’s schedule, however, BPS will work with college administrators to mitigate potential challenges for dual enrollment students.
In a video message to parents on Monday, Superintendent Mullins provided clarification on why the district needs to open schools next month citing the July 6th Emergency Order issued by the Florida Department of Education which stated that all Florida schools are to reopen in August.
“If we do not commit to having full time in-person learning, five days a week, beginning in August, we will not be authorized to offer the eLearning and virtual options we have proposed as an alternative to your child attending school in-person,” said Dr. Mullins. “Additionally, our funding is directly tied to submitting a plan that meets all the Department of Education’s expectations for both in-person and alternative instruction.”
The district has released its plan to reopening schools in August, which was approved by the school board on July 14th. The plan can be viewed here.
In addition to approving the alternate start date and calendar changes, the school board agreed to reconvene on July 30th to further explore mandating face coverings in schools and establishing specific metrics that would assist in reopening plans.
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