Tennessee grants seven districts permission to switch to virtual learning — for all of their individual schools

The Tennessee Department of Education has granted permission this week for at least seven districts to pivot all of their schools to virtual learning for up to five days due to issues related to COVID-19.

Department officials have spent months assuring lawmakers that entire school districts could not close and pivot to virtual-only instruction. But department spokesperson Victoria Robinson told The Tennessean Thursday night there has not been a shift in policy.

The waivers were approved for every individual school, Robinson said, noting the policy has "no cap" on how many schools districts can seek waivers for from the state.

Nonetheless, the move has the same practical effect as a district-wide shift to virtual learning for the four school districts.

The waiver approvals come as dozens of school districts across the state have been forced to shut down due to staff shortages brought on by illness, including districts as large as Knox County Schools.

The omicron variant continues to surge across Tennessee, and several school districts last week reported the highest number of new cases all school year.

Related: Dozens of Tennessee school districts close due to staff shortages brought on by illness

On Wednesday, Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn approved a remote learning waiver request from West Carroll Special School District in Carroll County for three schools: West Carroll Primary, West Carroll Elementary and West Carroll Junior and Senior High. The district only has three schools.

The waiver allows schools to offer virtual learning and count days students spend learning at home toward their 180-school-day requirement.

The district’s waiver cited 33% of teachers in quarantine or isolation due to COVID-19 at West Carroll Primary School and staff shortages in other areas. The waiver request noted key employees in quarantine, including two principals, two nurses, nine cafeteria workers and a school resource officer.

The waiver was granted "because the number of teachers, students and staff in isolation means the school is not in a place to support in-person learning" and cited that school has taken the necessary steps where able,” according to department documents.

Previously: Individual schools, not entire Tennessee districts, can go remote due to COVID, schools chief says

Also this week, the department then approved waivers for three more school districts to pivot to virtual learning: Lincoln County Schools, Maury County Public Schools and McMinn County Schools.

According to its waiver request, Lincoln County sought approval to pivot all seven of its schools to virtual learning. McMinn County sought approval for all nine of its schools.

Maury County Schools' waiver was not immediately posted on the state's website, but the district posted on social media that its waiver had been granted by the department and all their schools will pivot to remote learning for two days.

On Friday, the department gave three additional school districts permission to pivot all of their schools to virtual learning: Fayetteville City Schools, Franklin County Schools and Trousdale County Schools.

In a statement to The Tennessean, Robinson said Maury County Schools and West Carroll Special School District had applied for their individual schools, "which has always been part of the waiver pathway."

"There is no policy shift. In alignment with the COVID-19 Remote Learning Waiver process since the Commissioner enacted her authority, districts can request individual schools and there is no cap on how many. No districts has applied for a district wide waiver but has applied for individual schools, which are listed on their waiver requests," Robinson said.

"Local context varies, as it has throughout the pandemic, and we continue to expect districts to take a scalpel vs sledgehammer approach for temporary classroom or school closures that may be necessary."

But state officials worked hard last fall to bar schools districts as a whole from pivoting to remote learning.

Previously: 'We're drowning': Inside the chaotic start of Tennessee's school year as COVID tightened its grip

Schwinn enacted the waiver process on Aug. 30, 2021 after weeks of confusion — what some called "chaos" — around the state's guidance when it came to school closures or virtual learning.

As Gov. Bill Lee and other lawmakers pressured districts to remain open, Schwinn laid out the process that could give individual schools or classrooms the flexibility to learn virtually in dire circumstances.

At least 94 waiver requests had been submitted as of Wednesday, most for individual schools, a specific grade level in a building or a classroom. The department continues to receive requests from districts on a daily basis.

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Meghan Mangrum covers education for the USA TODAY Network — Tennessee. Contact her at mmangrum@tennessean.com. Follow her on Twitter @memangrum.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee schools chief gives seven districts permission to pivot to virtual learning