KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Shawnee Mission School District will not offer students a remote learning option for the next school year.
Superintendent Mike Fulton made the announcement Tuesday in a notice sent to district families, stating that the district sought clarity from the Kansas Department of Education about whether or not to provide the virtual option.
“The answer we received is that the provision of remote learning was made possible by the suspension of state requirements during the pandemic,” Fulton said, “and absent a pandemic, there is no legal way to continue providing the remote learning option.”
He also said the district doesn’t believe that a “virtual learning model” would allow educators to guarantee the quality of instruction to meet goals outlined in the district’s strategic plan.
Public health leaders have not yet stated that the COVID-19 pandemic has ended.
