LUBBOCK, Texas — Lubbock Cooper ISD on Monday announced that online instruction will end on October 13 for secondary students and October 19 for elementary students.

The following is a copy of a statement sent from LCISD to parents:

After careful consideration and input from teachers, administrators, and district families, the Lubbock-Cooper ISD Board of Trustees has voted to suspend virtual instruction effective on Tuesday, October 13 for secondary students and Monday, October 19 for elementary students. This means that secondary students currently receiving virtual instruction are expected to report for school on campus on Tuesday, October 13, and elementary students currently receiving virtual instruction are expected to report for school on campus on Monday, October 19.

The decision to end virtual instruction was not taken lightly; however, district and campus administrators believe it is in the best interest of Lubbock-Cooper students. The district is currently serving 10% of the LCISD student population virtually. Out of that percentage, less than 10% of secondary students have remained actively engaged throughout the entire process, and less than 40% of elementary students have remained actively engaged. While some students have been regularly engaged and successful, the vast majority of our virtual students are suffering educationally and are not showing learning progress. Our teachers and administrators have made numerous attempts to reach and engage virtual learners but have seen minimal improvement or success. As a school district, it is our job to serve students and provide them with the best possible educational opportunities.

The virtual instruction program was developed with the intent that families with health concerns regarding COVID-19 could keep their students at home and off campus while monitoring the public health situation. Reopening schools had the potential to correlate with significant COVID-19 case increases. Fortunately, Lubbock-Cooper ISD was able to implement several elevated health practices which have helped us limit student and staff cases. To date, 34 students out of our total enrollment of 7,258 have experienced lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19. This is less than 0.5% of our total enrollment, and the majority of these students have made a full recovery and have returned to school following quarantine, with the remaining students expected to recover fully and return to school within the next few days. It is important to note that contact tracing investigations have determined that no cases have been spread at school. Heightened health practices including social distancing, increased cleaning and sanitization, and use of face coverings (as directed in Governor Abbott’s Executive Order GA-29) will remain in place.

Because classroom and campus capacity has been determined based on two separate methods of instruction, traditional and virtual, students returning from virtual instruction may receive instruction at a different campus upon their return to traditional instruction. This possibility was communicated to parents in the district’s Reopening Guidelines, which have been available on the district website, www.lcisd.net, since early August. Campus administrators will contact families of students who will be transferred to other campuses within the district.

Many families may have chosen virtual learning for their children for reasons including concerns about COVID-19, scheduling issues, the preference of a less traditional learning environment, and more. These families have options moving forward should they wish for their children to remain off-campus:

Please know that selection of any of the options listed above will require official documentation provided to Lubbock-Cooper ISD in a prompt manner to avoid the pursuit of legal action related to compulsory attendance.

When students return to the campus, they should bring their district-owned technology to school. If you plan to unenroll your child, please make arrangements with your child’s campus to return all district-owned technology. Failure to return district-owned technology in a timely manner may result in legal action.

As the COVID-19 public health situation continues, we expect that some students will be required by the City of Lubbock Health Department or other medical officials to quarantine. Take-home school work will be provided to these students for the duration of the quarantine period in accordance with the district’s absence policy. (At no point during the school year have quarantined students been required to transition into virtual instruction; quarantined students will not be affected by the suspension of virtual instruction.)

Thank you for your flexibility and patience as we continue to navigate this unprecedented situation. We appreciate your support as we work to reestablish the safe, familiar, and balanced learning environment our students deserve.