Several Tampa Bay area school districts return to class Monday

TAMPA BAY, Fla (WFLA) – Monday will mark the first day of school for many Tampa Bay school districts. Pinellas, Pasco, and Polk will all welcome students back while Hillsborough County holds online learning for the first week.

This new school year brings a lot of new rules and changes due to the coronavirus. Some of the new rules include requiring students and staff to wear masks and take temperature checks.

In Hillsborough County, while the first week of school will be online, faculty and staff across the district have been preparing for when students will return for in-person learning.

Hillsborough County bus drivers have been preparing by practicing their bus routes ahead of the new school year. Masks are required to ride the school bus, which will be cleaned multiple times a day.

“At the conclusion of their morning run, when they park their buses, we have a mister that they will be going in between all the seats and everything else. So that will be done twice a day,” said Jim Beekman, the General Manager of Transportation for Hillsborough County Public Schools.

Sarasota and Hernando Counties will go back to school on August 31, which is when Hillsborough County will welcome back students for in-person learning.