With children particularly vulnerable to contracting COVID due to the highly contagious nature of the delta variant and the ineligibility of children to be vaccinated at this time, DCPS parents should have the option to keep their children out of in-person school.  At this time, there is no option for children to receive virtual schooling in the District.  And there have been multiple cases of COVID in schools only a few weeks into the school year.

In addition, the city should learn from the past year and offer additional supports to parents who choose the keep their children out of in-person, indoor school.  These could include outdoor learning options, in-home or personalized tutoring support, and hyper-local learning pods.  

Parents should not be forced to put their children at risk in in-person, indoor school.  This is particularly true for parents of high-risk kids.  The city needs to offer a virtual option and supports to parents who select this option.