New coronavirus reports, guidance can complicate school operations

The coronavirus continues to affect so much of what’s happening in public education, as debates ensue over campus closures, quarantine rules, mask requirements and more. Yet so much remains in flux, as researchers learn more about how the illness works. New studies and guidances emerge daily, raising questions and concerns for most everyone about what the best decision might be. More came out just yesterday. Read on for the latest on that and other Florida education news.

How do K-12 in-person classes connect to coronavirus spread? Two new studies show no consistent correlations, NPR reports. The authors suggest shifting the conversation to the risks associated with keeping schools closed. • Preventive measures in schools can help control or slow the spread, but researchers are still learning more about transmission dynamics, Education Week reports. • Meanwhile, the CDC expanded its definition of “close contact,” which could impact how officials determine exposure in schools, the Washington Post reports.

Keeping track of cases helps the public know what’s going on. The Martin County school district became the first on the Treasure Coast to launch a coronavirus dashboard, TC Palm reports. • The Orange County school district closed its third school, returning to all-online classes, because of 14 cases, the Orlando Sentinel reports. • Reports from the state and local districts differ in their case counts, the Daytona Beach News-Journal reports. • Confusing? It has been for Miami-Dade County parents, who pleaded for clarity on their district’s quarantine procedures, the Miami Herald reports.

Solid protocols help schools prevent secondary spread. Many district officials are leery of changing their approaches, even as members of the public clamor for relaxed rules, Florida Phoenix reports.

Share your views on masks in schools. The Florida PTA is collaborating with the state Department of Education on an opinion survey, the Orlando Sentinel reports.

Party on? Some students at Florida universities are reporting others who pack bars, attend off-campus parties and otherwise violate mask and social distancing rules, WUFT reports.

Hope they have lots of coffee. More than 1,000 people submitted comments to the Palm Beach County School Board in advance of its meeting to reconsider the rehiring of a principal who questioned the Holocaust, the Palm Beach Post reports. The board delayed action to sort through all the responses, the Post reports. More from the Sun-Sentinel.

It’s time to get trained. St. Johns County’s technical college has seen a jump in enrollment among workers seeking skills in essential job areas, the St. Augustine Record reports. • A non-profit organization is bringing more computer science classes to students in Miami-Dade County’s low-income schools, the Miami Herald reports.

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What should Polk County’s next superintendent be like? Members of the public weigh in with their priorities, the Ledger reports.

Students are gaining their voices. Some Miami-Dade County teens of color are becoming advocates for safer schools, the Miami Herald reports.

That’s no way to treat children. A Polk County elementary school paraprofessional is reprimanded after parents complained she called their children “stupid” and took away recess without explanation, the Ledger reports. • The Palm Beach County school district is poised to settle with a family whose child was punched by a teacher, the Palm Beach Post reports.

Keeping up with growth. The Sarasota County school district completed a land swap that provides a site for two new schools in a high development area, the Herald-Tribune reports.

Their schools are old. Okaloosa County teachers and other civic groups are hopeful voters will approve a new sales tax to pay for building improvements, the Northwest Florida Daily News reports.

Did you miss a story? Catch up with yesterday’s collection.

Before you go ... Who says the strangest things happen in Florida? Tokyo Toilet Museum, anyone? Just be sure not to use the display.