UFF Calls For All Florida Higher Ed To Go Remote

By: Jordan Coll / Asst. News Director

The United Faculty of Florida, along with several state educators, announced a call to action to transition all universities and colleges to remote learning. 

The announcement was made on Monday, July 27, a couple of weeks prior to the start of the 2020 fall semester. 

This comes after a lawsuit filed against Gov. Ron DeSantis and his administration for approving to fully reopen public schools next month. Department heads of the Florida Commissioner of Education, Florida Department of Education, Florida Board of Education, and Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez are also being sued. 

With over 140,000 members, the Florida Education Association is the state’s largest professional organization focused on representing state education. 

The UFF is an organization affiliated with FEA and specializes in the concerns of higher education in Florida. The FEA includes pre-K-12 teachers, higher education members, educational staff professionals, students currently in colleges and universities preparing to become teachers, and retired education employees.

“We believe that it is reckless, we believe this is incogitable, and we believe this executive order is unconstitutional,” said Fedrick Ingram, president of the FEA. 

According to the Florida constitution “public schools on-site instruction and operations must be opened safely.”

The mandate states that “adequate provision shall be made by law for uniform, efficient, safe, secure and high-quality system of free public school.” 

With FIU already making adjustments for the upcoming fall semester, students will have options based on class availability. Approximately one-third of all fall classes will be offered face-to-face or hybrid, the other two-thirds of the courses will be fully remote, according to an email sent out by external relations. 

All students, staff, and faculty members on campus will be required to follow social distancing guidelines and wear a mask in public settings such as libraries, hallways, restrooms, and open areas.

This is a developing story and will be updated as we learn more details about the lawsuit and its case. 

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