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Parent group pushes for remote learning option

A spike in cases from staff and students is making some parents worried

HARTFORD, Conn. — A group of parents is pushing for the state to allow for remote learning as an option for students as Connecticut deals with a covid surge.

Parents FOX61 spoke with said with COVID numbers high right now, they don’t feel it’s safe for their kids to be in the classroom.

“I should not have to risk my child’s education because I don’t feel it is safe for them to be in school,” said Heather Duguay, who started the Facebook group, ‘Rally for Virtual Learning in CT.’

The mother of two Middletown Public School students created the group after hearing Governor Lamont’s push to keep kids in school at a news conference Tuesday.

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“I think there’s nothing more important for our state and for our kids than doing everything we can to keep them in the classroom safely,” Lamont said.

“Learning via zoom is not nearly what it should be when it comes to keeping kids in the classroom with their peers, with their friends, with a teacher that loves them,” he later added.

“I just don’t think it’s fair for him to tell us what’s right or wrong for our children. We as parents should have the choice of having our kids home if that’s what we feel is safe for them,” Duguay said.

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The latest data from the state shows a spike in COVID-19 cases among staff and students at the start of the new year. The weekly submissions of confirmed new cases jumped from 477 on December 29 to more than 2,300 for staff on January 5 and from around 1,400 to 7,600 for student cases in one week.

A petition on change.org created by parent Tiffany Torok has gathered more than 9,000 signatures calling for the state to give parents the option to put their children in distance learning until covid-19 numbers go down.

“I agree, in school is the best option for these kids; however their safety has to come first and I feel like right now with these numbers so high, I would like the option to put my child’s safety first,” Torok said.

This comes at a time when the CDC recently relaxed K-12 quarantine guidance to 5 days.

Sunday night, Waterbury public schools announced their decision to close Monday due to a staff shortage. Schools will be closed to students but the district is still asking staff to come to work.

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Right now, remote learning is not permitted by the legislature except in special cases: students who are confirmed COVID positive or need to quarantine, students living with vulnerable family members or students with disabilities.

If a school is closed, students would need to make up those days at the end of the year, according to Education Commissioner Charlene Russell-Tucker.

Teachers and school staff plan to wear black Wednesday to bring attention to their safety concerns, including lack of masks and test kits, staffing shortages and the need for a short-term remote learning option.

Elisha Machado is a reporter at FOX61 News. She can be reached at emachado@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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