Via E-mail:

commissioner@fldoe.org
governorron.desantis@eog.myflorida.com

Richard Corcoran
Florida Department of Education
Turlington Building, Suite 1514
325 West Gaines Street
Tallahasee, Florida 32399

Office of Governor Ronald Dion DeSantis

State of Florida
The Capitol
400 S. Monroe St.
Tallahasee, FL 32399

September 28, 2020

Subject: Demand to Uphold School Board’s Decision to Reschedule Reopening of Miami-

Dade County’s Public Schools to October 14, 2020

Dear Commissioner Corcoran and Governor DeSantis:

The undersigned parents of Miami-Dade County Public Schools write this letter in response to
Commissioner Corcoran’s September 25, 2020 correspondence addressed to the Superintendent Alberto
Carvalho and the School Board Chair, Perla Tabares Hantman, for Miami-Dade County Public Schools
(“MDCPS”). The Commissioner’s letter mischaracterizes the decision made by the School Board for MDCPS
(the “Board”) to postpone the reopening of schools by under 2 weeks, as “a vote to revoke parents’ ability to
choose brick-and-mortar schools for their children’s education.” This is incorrect and misleading.

Parents’ ability to choose was not “revoked” by the Board. Our children are still returning to brick-
and-mortar schools in October. However, after listening to the concerns of countless parents, teachers, and
school staff throughout the district - our school leaders recognized more time was needed to properly prepare
nearly 400 schools for safe reopening during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The members of the Board
voted unanimously to push the reopening of our schools by 9 days, from October 5, 2020 to October 14,
2020. The reopening schedule voted on by the Board staggers the students’ return to campus and prioritizes
younger students and students with special needs. The last date of the staggered reopening schedule is October
21, 2020 – a mere two weeks after the originally scheduled return date. This is not an unreasonable amount
of additional time to prepare hundreds of schools for a safe reopening.

Commissioner Corcoran’s letter contends that the Board’s decision “directly contradicts” the
MDCPS’ previously approved reopening plan. However, MDCPS’ reopening plan states that “[o]n September
30, 2020, the district will determine if gating criteria allow for a transition to Stage 2 and if such, the
Schoolhouse model will begin on October 5, 2020.” It is clear that while MDCPS hoped to open earlier, the
authority to make that decision was to remain with the district – not the state. The Commissioner’s letter goes
on to partially quote the Commissioner’s July 6, 2020 Emergency Order No. 2020-EO-06 (the “Emergency
Order”) which states that “the day-to-day decision to open or close a school must always rest locally with the
board or executive most closely associated with a school” in challenging the district-wide decision to delay
reopening of schools. However, the omitted portion of that same provision in the Emergency Order provides
that the day-to-day decision to open or close a school rests locally with “the superintendent or school board
in the case of a district-run school.” The language in MDCPS’ reopening plan and the Emergency Order
reflects that the decision to reopen schools rests with local school leaders.

Each of the members of the Board that unanimously voted to move the start date for the return of
students to brick-and-mortar schools to October 14, 2020, represents a group of schools from one of MDCPS’
9 school districts. Thus, while the decision to delay reopening is district-wide, it has been considered and
approved by a Board member who is indeed closely associated with the schools in his or her district. Instead
of demanding that MDCPS submit a burdensome and unnecessary amended plan as our school officials are
busy trying to prepare for our children, teachers, and staff to return to school safely, we request that the
Commissioner respect the Board’s decision to consider the needs of the students, parents, and teachers from
their respective local districts.

The Commissioner’s demand for school leaders to conduct a “school-by-school, grade-by-grade, and
classroom-by-classroom analysis” in order to justify the need for more time completely ignores the realities
of a virus that is airborne and highly contagious. By now we have learned that the piecemeal approaches to
contain the virus taken in March are ineffective. The Board has recognized there are critical preventative safety
measures such as on-site nurses for suspected COVID-19 infections, janitorial staffing, PPE gear, and other
supplies, that must be implemented schoolwide - not grade-by-grade, or classroom-by-classroom. Reopening
any school without ensuring every measure to prevent transmission of the virus is implemented is grossly
irresponsible and negligent.

Completely ignoring the difference in student populations and COVID-19 numbers, the
Commissioner’s letter points to Palm Beach County public schools’ recent reopening to chastise the Board
for delaying reopening in Miami-Dade. This comparison ignores several key factors. Currently, Miami-Dade
County has approximately 50% more, or 255,000 students in its “traditional” public schools, where Palm
Beach County has about 164,000. Over 169,000 people have been infected with COVID-19 in Miami-Dade
County, with 3,231 deaths. In comparison, Palm Beach County has reported over 46,000 COVID-19
infections and 1,342 deaths. Meanwhile, MDCPS’ approved reopening criteria for returning to a school-house
model of learning include a sustained positivity rate of trending toward 5% for 14 days, with a goal of 3%.
Notably, Miami-Dade and the state have both failed to maintain a positivity rate below 5% for 14 days.

Nevertheless, since the Commissioner relies on Palm Beach County as the model school district, here
are some of the issues Palm Beach County schools are facing after a rushed reopening: On September 22,
2020, the Palm Beach Post reported that Palm Beach County public schools were short 900 teachers. Because
of the lack of substitute teachers, there are teachers supervising multiple classes or other school personnel are
monitoring the students. This is not “quality learning” for any child, much less those with special needs. This
is simply transferring the students from their homes, where there is a much lower likelihood of viral spread,
to a school full of other children and school staff.

In fact, the Sun Sentinel reported last week that Palm Beach County public schools have already
reported 3 students and 4 teachers confirmed with COVID-19 during their first week of reopening. All 7
infections were at different schools, which means all 7 schools will now have to implement measures to
monitor the spread and hopefully quarantine all those who interacted with those infected. If Palm Beach is
experiencing these issues with only a third of the district’s students returning to face-to-face learning, how is
it reasonable to demand that MDCPS, a significantly larger school district with at least half of its students
returning to face-to-face learning, reopen safely under a similar timeframe?
 The Commissioner reminds our school leaders that MDCPS’ “guaranteed funding” needed for
“school districts to meet the diverse needs of students and families during the COVID-19 pandemic” is
contingent upon compliance with the Emergency Order. Stripping the fourth largest school district in the
country of funding if its’ leaders do not bend to the will of the state is unacceptable. In order to comply with
the Commissioner’s demands, MDCPS will have to disregard the concerns of thousands of parents, teachers,
and staff. Commissioner Corcoran attempts to justify a rushed reopening by pointing to children who need
supervision, lunch, and special services. Perhaps Florida’s Department of Education and the Governor should
consider providing financial, educational, and childcare support for parents in need during the pandemic
instead of pushing schools to reopen - regardless of the safety measures in place. The role of our schools is
to provide our children a safe learning environment, not to serve as de-facto babysitters, or to help the state
skirt its responsibility to provide aid to its citizens during the pandemic.

Threatening to withhold state funding from our district as it recovers from an ongoing pandemic is a
callous disregard for the well-being of the children, parents, and teachers of Miami-Dade County. Especially
considering that Commissioner Corcoran and Governor DeSantis are currently racking up a legal bill that
reportedly will exceed over $1 million dollars to fight the very same teachers they are demanded return to the
classrooms; a tab which will ultimately be passed on to the taxpayers. Simply put, strong-arming local school
districts into prematurely reopening and going against the needs of their constituents is nothing more than a
thinly veiled show of power for political gain. How could any leader profess to have the interests of
marginalized and vulnerable student populations at heart while threatening to withhold critical educational
funding for their needs in the same breath? If Commissioner Corcoran and Governor DeSantis truly had
“grave concerns” about anything that affects our children, they’d be helping us find solutions and avenues for
school funding. Instead, they have opted to force our school leaders to abandon school reopening
preparations and scramble to respond to their arduous and burdensome demands.

It is time for the politically motivated directives to end, and for Tallahasee politicians to support, not
undermine, our school leaders. The parents, teachers, and school staff our district have spoken. We support
the staggered school reopening schedule starting October 14, 2020. More importantly, we support our local
school leaders’ judgment in deciding on a timeline for our children to return to school safely.

Sincerely,

Concerned Parents of Miami-Dade County Public Schools

Signatures supporting this letter are available at: http://chng.it/6bxshXkS

cc: School Board of MDCPS:

Alberto Carvalho, Superintendent
Perla Tabares Hantman, Chair, District 4
Dr. Steve Gallon III, Vice Chair, District 1
Dr. Dorothy Bendross-Mindingall, District 2
Susie V. Castillo, District 5
Dr. Lawrence S. Feldman, District 9
Dr. Martin Karp, District 3
Dr. Lubby Navarro, District 7
Dr. Marta Pérez, District 8
Ms. Mari Tere Rojas, District 6