CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Friday is the last day for Chicago Public School parents to apply if they want their children to attend school remotely at the start of the new academic year as part of the district's new Virtual Academy.
According to the district, CPS' Virtual Academy is a new remote learning option for students who qualify as "medically fragile" or who have medical needs in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In fact, to apply, a parent or guardian and a licensed medical provider must fill out a health eligibility form for the student that includes his/her condition and the reason for remote learning.
More than a dozen conditions, including leukemia, spina bifida, cystic fibrosis and rheumatoid arthritis, automatically qualify a student for the academy, the district said. According to the Tribune, CPS said it is also allowing students suffering from other ailments, such as diabetes, heart disease, and asthma, entry into the program if their yearly attendance is below 75 percent.
A CPS spokesperson told the Tribune the district identified around 3,000 students who may be eligible for the Virtual Academy, but it had only received about 150 applications as of early last week.
CPS does not expect the number of students attending the Virtual Academy to be very large; but, students who are accepted into it would have to commit to at least a quarter for elementary school students and a semester for high schoolers.
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The window to apply for remote learning was extended from July 23 to Friday, Aug. 6. All applications received after Friday will be "reviewed on a case-by-case basis," the district said.
Parents looking to apply for the Virtual Academy program, can do so athttps://www.cps.edu/academics/virtual-academy/.
Chicago Public Schools will welcome students back for full day, in-person learning five days a week starting Aug. 30. Masks will be required indoors for all students, teachers, and staff, regardless of vaccination status, except when they are eating or drinking.
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The Chicago Teachers Union claimed this week that CPS is "refusing to match staff seeking medical accommodations with positions in the Virtual Academy and offering no guarantee to academy teachers of returning to their regular positions after the pandemic subsides."