This petition is to request that the Orchard Park, NY school district offer a virtual-only schooling option to any family who feels they need it, no questions asked, as other districts in Western New York are. Currently, it appears that the Orchard Park schools will only be making this option available to vulnerable children. 

Failing to consider there are many reasons families may not feel safe sending their children to school during a pandemic and that families with vulnerable children may not want to disclose personal health information to the schools lacks both foresight and respect for privacy.

There are several important reasons to offer a virtual-only option to all families.

First and foremost, permitting all families the choice of virtual learning makes it easier for the schools as a whole to social distance those children whose families choose to send them to school. There would be less children to manage on site in the first place, and all of our kids, whether learning from home or in school, would be safer in the long run.

Secondly, if virtual-only learning is offered only to families with vulnerable children, it essentially “outs” all the children who have a condition that they may desperately want to keep private. Everyone will know that the kids in virtual classes must have some kind of physical or mental condition, and this just puts a target on those children’s back for bullying when we return to something resembling a normal school day for everyone.

Third, families should not have to disclose other private or personal information for virtual accommodations in the middle of a pandemic. There are many reasons families may not feel safe sending their children into school which are, quite frankly, none of the school district’s business. Some possible examples could include: 

1. A child’s vulnerable grandparents may live with them part of the year. 
2. A parent might have a health condition that makes them vulnerable.
3. A parent might help care for an elderly neighbor they do not want to put at risk.
4. A  parent might have post traumatic stress disorder related to a prior health situation and sending their kids back to school would be a risk to their mental health.
5. A parent just does not feel comfortable sending their children back because there is so much we do not know about COVID and its long term effects. 

Fourth, while it is true families could choose to homeschool or send their children to private online schools, they should not be forced to do so because of lack of choice in their own public school district. 

If the schools have to implement virtual learning to accommodate vulnerable children anyways, then they should open it up to all families, no questions asked. 

Every family’s situation is different, and we are all trying to do what we think is best for our families during this crisis. Accommodating those differences while respecting privacy is appropriate and a way of showing respect and kindness towards everyone as we navigate these difficult times together.