Orange County Public Schools prepare for Monday reopening online

Schools prepare for virtual learning

Orange County students return to school for online learning on Monday. Thousands will use the district's LaunchEd program in the first ten days. On August 21, students who have opted for in-person learning will be reporting to their respective schools.

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. - Orange County Public Schools is preparing for a big day.

On Monday, all 212,000 of its students will begin the 2020-2021 school year via the LaunchED program.

The district admits it’ll likely be a rocky start.

“Be patient with us as we work with our area providers. We know there will be issues,” said Scott Howat, with the district at a media briefing Friday morning.

After nine days online, those who chose face-to-face will be allowed to return to campus.

“Students will be required to wear a mask. Teachers will be required to wear a mask unless they medically cannot,” Howat said.

The district said it has sped up its device distribution and boosted servers to avoid issues like families experienced at the end of last school year.

The district said at-home learners will be able to pick up a week full of meals curbside on Mondays.