BOSTON (WHDH) - Dozens of local school districts are looking to delay the start of full-time, in-person learning for students in kindergarten through eighth grade, leaving some parents frustrated.
Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley says that 90 percent of districts will have their elementary schools back fully in-person by April 5 as required by the state.
“Many school districts have been safely educating students in person since September, and we are thrilled that the remainder of all elementary students will be back in classrooms soon,” he said. “Bringing all our kids back to school is crucial for their educational progress, emotional and social well-being, and we will continue to work with districts to bring students back ahead of their waiver-approved return dates.”
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education received waiver requests from 74 school districts seeking to delay full in-person learning.
Fifty-eight of those requests have been approved and six have been denied because they wanted to continue hybrid for the remainder of the year or keep a fully remote day, according to DESE.
“Of the districts granted waivers, nearly half are due to the inclusion of fifth grade in the district’s middle school and the rest are planning to be in person within weeks,” Riley said.
Ten of the waiver requests are still being reviewed, including requests from Boston and Worcester.
Boston Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Brenda Cassellius submitted a waiver request Monday seeking the return of students in kindergarten through eighth grade on April 26.
“Beginning five days of full-time, in-person learning on April 26, immediately following BPS spring recess, will allow the district time to implement thorough operational preparation, communicate updates with families in a timely manner, and ensure most of our educators and staff have received vaccination for COVID-19,” she wrote.
Cassellius added that the Boston Teachers Union supports the district-wide return of grades kindergarten through eighth on April 26.
Leslee Parker-Sproul, a Boston Public Schools parent, said she thought the days of makeshift school desks in her home were almost over and is upset that the district is trying to push back bringing students in full-time.
“I’m seeing behaviors in my kids that they didn’t do before, like things that aren’t great because there’s just so much pent-up energy and anxiety and so three more weeks makes a big difference when they haven’t had all year,” she said.
A group of parents has started a petition, asking the state to reject the waiver request.
“We’re allowing people from outside of the city to come into Fenway, to TD Garden, to all these restaurants, but yet the kids of the city, the children in this city, aren’t allowed to be in their schools,” Parker-Sproul said. “It just seems like our priorities are really off.”
In Worcester, the school district is seeking the return of students in kindergarten through eighth grade on May 3.
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