ST. PETERSBURG -- The state Board of Education heard an update on COVID-19 in schools from Commissioner Richard Corcoran Wednesday.
Corcoran told board members that since school started, the percentage of students learning in person has increased by eight percent to well over 60 percent statewide. He says that number has grown by eight percentage points since school started.
"Maybe parents held their kids back, but when they see we're doing great cleaning, great protocols, great safety measures," they changed their minds, Corcoran said. "We expect that number to be higher by October."
Corcoran said actions by the "union bosses" at the Florida Education Association defied logic... as he told the board they urged the courts to keep in place an emergency order on school reopenings they had previously sought to strike down. "I hope the (appeals court) makes the union pay (lawyers fees to the state), " Corcoran said.
Corcoran also complained about what he called biased reporting on the state's COVID-19 education situation. He pointed to a Washington Post story that reported a 34 percent increase in cases among children after schools reopened in August. "(But) in July, it was 390 percent, and dropped to 195 percent in the weeks before schools opened, and now it's down to 34 percent... it's absolutely a great statistic." Corcoran said it wasn't the only example of bad reporting.
"The headlines will say 'teacher's aide dies'," Corcoran said, "but it (turns out it) had nothing to do with the schools."
In response to a question from board member Michael Olenick, Corcoran said medical privacy laws might prevent the release of a statewide database of school COVID cases. More than half of Florida school districts are already providing databases, using information from the state Department of Health.
The meeting was held at the Florida Holocaust Museum, a move meant to emphasize the importance of Holocaust education, which is required for Florida students each November. Corcoran says knowledge about the Nazis' program of mass murder against the Jewish population of Europe is lacking among too many young people.
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