State superintendent to hold news conference Friday about plan for 2020-2021 school year

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - The start of the upcoming school year is just about 8 weeks away for most Alabama school districts, but there are still plenty of unknowns.

Local school superintendents are meeting with State Superintendent, Dr. Eric Mackey, learning for themselves his recommendations for the upcoming school year.

There is a news conference scheduled for 10 a.m. Friday. WBRC will carry it live on the air and online.

Tracee Binion, with the Alabama Education Association, said school districts may have to rely on their own discretion to finalize plans for the fall.

“I do have a feeling it’s going to be a little like the Wild Wild West, though. I think every system is going to be making some of those decisions locally, and so you’re going to see a wide variety of different requirements by different systems,” Binion said.

Based on lessons learned from the previous school year, Binion said most Alabama schools will be offering some type of virtual element.

“And if a school is not, I understand that the state is going to offer that for the student if they want to take classes virtually,” Binion explained.

But what about students and families who don’t have access to reliable internet?

“Individual systems are going to address that. I know school buses are going to be used as wifi hotspots in a lot of locations. In Jefferson County, there is a public wifi students have access to.”

And mobile devices?

“The budget released that was voted on by the state is going to have extra funding for technology needs in the budget. So, again, each system is going to have to look to spend some of that money on devices for students that may not have them,” Binion said.

So far, Jefferson County has arranged for all of its students to have devices for virtual learning, and Binion said she believes all Alabama school districts will be equipped to meet the needs of their students.

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