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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis talks education, coronavirus during Hillsborough County visit

Governor says parents should have choice between classroom or virtual learning for 2020-21 school year
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Posted at 11:21 AM, Aug 10, 2020
and last updated 2020-08-10 13:37:54-04

RIVERVIEW, Fla. — One day before students in Martin County head back to school, both in classrooms and virtually, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says parents should have a choice about their child's education.

"Here in Florida, we really believe in empowering parents with having a choice about the upcoming school year," DeSantis said during a roundtable discussion at Winthrop College Prep Academy in Riverview.

The governor was joined by Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran and other officials to discuss the 2020-21 academic year.

"There are going to be some parents that would prefer to remain in distance learning, and they have the right to do that," DeSantis said. "There's a lot of parents who really want their kids to have an opportunity to get to in-person classroom. So we want to see that as an option for students and parents throughout the state of Florida."

WATCH EDUCATION ROUNDTABLE:

SPECIAL COVERAGE: Back To School | Coronavirus

According to the latest numbers from the Florida Department of Health, there are 536,961 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state, including 8,277 deaths.