ISBE survey: Most students in Illinois schools will be learning remotely this fall

(The Center Square) – Most students in Illinois will be learning remotely this fall, according to results from an Illinois State Board of Education survey. Parents and students wondering what their school district’s plans for the fall semester are amid COVID-19 concerns can find out through a new portal from the Illinois State Board of Education. ISBE has been surveying the state’s more than 850 school districts on reopening plans and it published a dashboard on the department’s website that allows everyone to see which options districts are planning to offer this fall. Of the more than 850 districts, 671 that cover more than 1.6 million students had responded as of Wednesday. Most of the districts, or 319, plan to offer a blended model. That will cover more than 525,000 students. About 200 districts serving 153,000 students will be doing in-person instruction. About 150 districts serving about 921,000 students will offer only remote instruction. Some of that could change as districts get closer to their start date. In Springfield District 186, the school board last week approved a blended option with remote learning and in-person instruction. The district called an emergency meeting for Thursday when the board could change from a blended option to remote learning only. A number of suburban Chicago districts have opted to start the school year with only remote instruction after initially planning to offer some in-person classes. Guidance documents totaling around 60 pages were released by ISBE over the summer. The governor has said whether it’s a blended option, in-person, or remote only is going to be up to local school boards. Reporting by Greg Bishop