Everything you need to know before Broward and Miami-Dade students head back to school
Miami-Dade and Broward kiddos are headed back to school and there are plenty of things that parents need to do to get ready plus few changes parents should be aware of.
Broward students will head back to the classroom on Monday, Aug. 12. In Miami-Dade, students will return to school on Thursday, Aug. 15.
Here’s what parents should know to prepare for the upcoming school year:
Focus: Broward’s new software
Broward schools will use Focus, a new portal for parents to access their student’s information. To create a parent portal, you need a valid email address. To connect all of your students to your profile you will need the student’s full name, ID number that begins with ‘06’ and their date of birth.
Within Focus, parents can find their students’ bus routes as well.
For information or assistance, parents can contact their student’s school directly.
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Finding your neighborhood school
Whether you’re in Miami-Dade, where some schools have been repurposed and boundaries were redrawn last school year, or if you simply moved to a new neighborhood, you might want to check where your child’s assigned school is located. Both Broward and Miami Dade have online locators for your neighborhood schools.
Parents can search Miami-Dade’s neighborhood school’s locator. After inputting your address, parents can do an advance search outside of their area for school level as well as specific program offerings. For a visual representation of your school boundaries and school board representative visit the district website.
For Broward’s locator, enter the partial home address for nearby schools. There is also an option for specific grades. When you click the school, you will be able to see school details such as enrollment, ethnic breakdowns and project plannings from the school. Boundary maps can be found on the district site.
School Lunches
Breakfast and lunch will continue to be served to all students in Miami-Dade and Broward schools free of charge.
To see the menu for Miami-Dade Schools, visit dadeschools.nutrislice.com/menu. If your child has special dietary needs, contact the school for information on how to submit the necessary form.
Broward schools will continue their second year providing free lunches through Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), Universal Free Breakfast, and Universal Free Lunch Program.
CEP provides breakfast and lunch at no cost for all students at 180 eligible Broward County Public Schools. The U.S. Department of Agriculture offers CEP to schools where 40% or more of the student population qualifies for programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TNAF), Medicaid and Extension of Benefits along with homeless, foster, Head Start and migrant students. Families at these schools do not need to complete an application to participate.
Families may complete an Income Survey Form at www.myschoolapps.com. An approved Income Survey form may qualify a student to receive additional District benefits.
The other 47 non-CEPs will be covered through the Universal Free Lunch Program.
For Broward schools lunch menus, visit https://www.browardschools.com/free-lunch. Parents can fill out a form for special dietary restrictions or requests.
Make sure your students immunization records are up to date
All public and private school children from kindergarten through 12th grade in Florida are required to get certain vaccines to attend school. And yes, this includes students who plan to take courses online. Students are not required to get the COVID-19 vaccine. See what vaccines are required for your child to attend a public, charter or private school in Florida, as per the Florida Department of Health website. Students will have to present documentation from their pediatricians demonstrating that their immunizations are up to date.
Miami-Dade has partnered with the University of Miami Health System Pediatric Mobile Shotz-2-Go Unit for required immunizations for kids 6 months and older. Parents must fill out a COVID-19 vaccine screening and consent form which will be available onsite. Shotz-2-Go is available at select sites. For more information visit the UHealth site.
New policies
Both Miami-Dade and Broward schools will continue to enforce the statewide ban on cellphones, which bans use during instruction time.
Broward students will face further restrictions, and will not be allowed on their cell phone or any Bluetooth devices during school hours. Students can either turn off their cellphones or place them on airplane mode. If parents or family members need to contact the student, the district recommends reaching out to the school directly.
High schoolers in Broward will also be required to go through metal detectors. Students should prepare to remove all electronic devices or metal items from their bags before entering the school buildings. Metal objects like eyeglass cases and sports equipment should also be removed. Superintendent Howard Hepburn said metal detectors will be wide enough to accommodate wheelchair users.
