On July 27, the School Board of Orange County returned the start of the school year until August 10 after previously approving submitting three plans to the state for parents to choose from:

• LaunchED@Home - A synchronous (real-time) virtual option that emulates the structure of a traditional school day. It allows students to remain enrolled at their regular school, receive live interactive video instruction from teachers at their regular school, and seamlessly transition back to the classroom if it is deemed safe to do so at the end of each nine-week grading period. Students may continue to participate in extracurricular activities (including athletics) at their enrolled school to the extent they can be offered.
• Orange County Virtual School - A self-paced virtual option that utilizes Canvas to present lessons and issue/receive assignments. Students who choose this option must withdraw from their regular school, and their classes will be taught by OCVS teachers. Participation in athletics may be arranged through the Non-Traditional Student eligibility process (see "Special Eligibility Situations" in the Forms/Docs menu).
• Face-to-Face - For those who have exceptional learning needs or lack childcare options at home, OCPS is preparing to offer traditional face-to-face instruction at school with safety protocols in place. The School Board has requested a waiver from the state to allow local discretion over when students may return to campus.

Parents and guardians were able to indicate their preference on the OCPS website and read FAQs. Those who did not respond will be contacted by the school.

Those who elected face-to-face instruction will use LaunchEd@Home beginning August 10, and will report to campus on August 21 or a future date to be determined by the school board.

Please keep in mind that this is a fluid situation, and specifics are subject to change. Continue to check ocps.net, follow @OCPSnews on Twitter, follow @OrangeCountyPublicSchools on Facebook, and make sure your contact information is up-to-date for Connect Orange for continued updates.

Regarding athletics, the Florida High School Athletic Association amended their previous decision such that practices and tryouts can occur no sooner than August 24, making September 7 the earliest possible start date for competitions. The FHSAA will meet again the week of August 10-17 to reevaluate recommendations. Orange County Public Schools previously announced a decision to postpone all fall sports until further notice, and they will provide an update following that FHSAA meeting. This means that tryouts and practices have not commenced as of July 27 as originally scheduled. However, conditioning (general workouts that do not fully simulate the conditions of a competition) may proceed with appropriate safety protocols in place. Please contact the head coach of each particular sport for more information.

Potential athletes are still encouraged to complete their online Athletic Clearance so that they may participate in conditioning and be ready for tryouts, practices, and competitions when they are allowed to resume. Coach Hyppolite will continue to review clearances and approve them as they are submitted. Review instructions in the Forms/Docs menu, and start the process at athleticclearance.fhsaahome.org.