Several metro Atlanta school districts will shift to online learning Dec. 6, the day of the U.S. Senate runoff election.
Atlanta Public Schools as well as districts in Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton and Gwinnett counties will hold virtual learning days instead of in-person school.
Many schools do double duty as polling sites, and districts said they’re responding to safety concerns as well as expectation that voter turnout will be high. Forsyth County’s schools are not polling sites, so there will be no online learning that day, a district spokeswoman said.
APS has 29 buildings that serve as voting locations, and three more sites are places where voters can drop off ballots.
“As such, APS will pivot to virtual learning that day in order to support quality teaching and learning while balancing the safety and security of scholars and staff,” the district said in a statement.
Fulton County Schools also announced on Friday that the election date would be a remote learning day. The district said a majority of its school buildings serve as polling sites, and the decision to go online “will keep students and staff safer.”
“Since the run-off election is expected to draw high voter turnout, there will be a large number of outside visitors to our campuses. The additional traffic can also create campus congestion with packed parking lots, which can affect buses and car rider lanes,” the Fulton statement said.
Clayton County Public Schools said employees will participate in a digital work day.
“I ask that all department leads and supervisors be flexible with staff to accommodate voting,” said Superintendent Morcease Beasley said in a written statement. “As we look to exercise our constitutional rights, we must have all eligible voters do their part and have their voices heard at the ballot box.”
The election “directly impacts many school buildings” in Cobb County, according to a news release from the district. Students will participate in an “asynchronous virtual learning day,” where they’ll work independently at home. There will not be required live virtual sessions.
Gwinnett County has 52 school buildings that will be used for voting. Students will access lessons but not participate in virtual classes with their teachers, Superintendent Calvin Watts said in an announcement on the district website.
Additionally, school buses will deliver meals at every bus stop in the district to “ensure that students have a nutritious breakfast and lunch to fuel their learning,” Watts said. Meals are provided for free and will arrive at the bus stops between 10:45 a.m. and noon.
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