Broward County Public Schools (BCPS) is aiming to reopen schools in the county in a few weeks from now, as the COVID-19 cases in the state are on a fast decline.
Superintendent Robert Runcie held a news conference Tuesday morning to provide an update on school reopening.
Runcie said school officials are hoping to reopen their schools sometime in October as long as the current downward trend in COVID-19 cases in Broward County continues.
“If the current trends continue and we can maintain that and continue on the path to improvement, we will be able to open schools in a phased approach as early as sometime in October,” the superintendent said.
Last month, Runcie had said that the key criterion for the opening of Broward schools is for the daily positive rate of COVID-19 infections to decline to 3 to 5 percent for a two-week period. The county has reported a daily positive rate of under 5% since August 27.
Runcie said the school district will be holding a workshop on Sept. 22 to discuss the strategy of their reopening plan, and whether to reopen with a hybrid or full-time on-site structure.
“All of us are anxious for our schools to reopen for face-to-face learning, as we know how important and critical the work of the district is in meeting the needs of our students and our families, but we must open in a way that is safe and in a way that is smart,” Runcie said.
He said easy access to rapid testing is one criteria that school officials are looking at, as well as the ability to acquire the proper PPE over the long term. The school district has been advocating for state and federal funding to assist with that effort.
According to Runcie, voluntary workouts for student-athletes are expected to resume Sept. 21 and will be held strictly outdoors at the beginning.
He said athletes will gradually phase into moving into weight rooms and holding other indoor workouts.
