Fannin County parents who wish to move their children in the Fannin County School System from traditional school to the system’s Online Learning Program will now need a medical diagnosis or a note signed by a physician to do so.
“Students who move into online learning will require a doctor’s note related to either their health or the health of someone in their home,” Assistant Superintendent of Achievement & Governance Sarah Rigdon said.
Parents had the option to enroll their child in the program without these new requirements prior to August 24, however different timelines of teaching between the two settings is now affecting the student’s education if they choose to switch.
“Our online learning platform does teach the same standards that students do learn in their classrooms, so the standards haven’t really changed,” Rigdon said. “The difference is the order, and so students really cannot move seamlessly from one format of education to the other. For students to move from online learning to face-to-face, or vice versa, would be extremely difficult for the student.”
Board member Lewis DeWeese asked what medical diagnoses would qualify a student to switch between platforms.
Rigdon said, “They would need to visit their physician. If their physician felt like online learning would better suit their health needs, then it would be up to the physician. We haven’t come up with a list of what we’ll accept. It’s basically up to the family and physician about whether or not the child should be educated at home. … That could also include if they live in the home of an elderly grandparent or someone who’s health compromised, and the physician felt like that would put the adult in the home at risk, then the physician could also write that.
“We’re not trying to limit it unnecessarily. It’s just that it’s affecting students’ education when they move between the two platforms, whether it’s face-to-face or online, and so at this point, we’re three weeks in, we really need for our kids to have a consistent education.”