Public schools in Broward County are set to reopen campuses for students later this week and teachers and staff are preparing with new safety measures in place.
The county's staggered reopening plan will begin with students in Pre-K through 2nd grade allowed to return Friday.
It's the first time students will be allowed in classrooms since they were closed in March amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Superintendent Robert Runcie toured an elementary school in Hollywood on Tuesday morning, monitoring to make sure social distancing measures are in place for students and teachers as well as making sure necessary cleaning supplies are in place.
Runcie and school board members voted last week to move up the reopening date from October 14th to October 9th to begin the staggered reopening process.
The move came after threats from Florida’s education commissioner that state funding could be cut if both Broward and Miami-Dade did not reopen sooner than planned.
Broward schools will follow a similar reopening plan as Miami-Dade, which reopened campuses Monday with around 22,000 students back for the first day of their staggered reopening process.
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Runcie said schools will follow all guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including disinfecting protocols and having desks at least three feet apart.
Still, some teachers in South Florida believe schools are not fully equipped.
“My response is that teachers have actually written to us and they told us they need these supplies so either they’re hoarding them somewhere or maybe they haven’t been delivered to the schools,” said United Teachers of Dade President Karla Hernandez-Mats.
