Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran should make an announcement about the future of virtual schools next month. That’s according to Orange County Public Schools spokesperson Scott Howat.
Corcoran’s executive order mandating online learning as an option during the pandemic will expire in December.
"His statements about that would indicate that we're going to hear something sooner rather than later. And certainly with more than fifty percent of our students in LaunchED at home remote learning we want to be prepared if things change and they need to come back face-to-face in January."
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Howat says regardless of Corcoran's decision, the district would still like to provide a similar alternative.
“So certainly providing some additional options through Orange County Virtual School would be a possibility. We've expanded significantly the offerings within Orange County Virtual School to this point. So anything we can do to help meet the needs of our parents and students beyond that we’re certainly willing to do.”
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But Howat says the district might have to consider laying off staff if the LaunchED option is no longer fully funded by the state.
He says Orange County Virtual School represents a drastic cut in funding per student.
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