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Gov. DeSantis announces plan to reopen Florida schools by fall semester

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis and Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran announced Thursday that they plan to reopen Florida schools by the fall semester.

Under the reopening plan, local officials will determine when schools should open.

According to the plan, here are the three steps to reopen K-12 schools:

Read: UCF lays out plan to keep students, faculty safe in return to campus

1. Open campuses for youth activities and summer camps by June.

2. Expand campus capacities further for summer recovery instruction by July.

3. Open campuses at full capacity for traditional start of the academic year by August.

The plan allows colleges and universities to allow in-person summer learning by the Summer B semester. It said state universities can continue virtual learning for Summer B.

By the fall semester, the plan calls for state colleges, technical colleges and universities to open at full capacity for traditional start of the academic year.

According to the plan, “face coverings are not mandated, however, schools should explore strategies to utilize them, to the extent feasible." It said “schools should be supportive of students, teachers and staff who voluntarily wear cloth face coverings.”

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To learn more about what is recommend for school to reopen, click here.

DeSantis said schools will get $64 million, and a lot of the money will go to reading programs.

He also said ACT and SAT testing will be free for those graduating in 2020-21.

Watch his announcement below:

Katlyn Brieskorn, WFTV.com

Katlyn Brieskorn is a Digital Assignment Editor at WFTV. She joined Channel 9 in July 2019.