Bloomington Public Schools to begin year with distance learning

With the COVID-19 pandemic still a major concern, Bloomington Public Schools will begin the school year with distance learning.

The district’s school board unanimously approved the resolution to use a distance learning model during its Monday meeting.

"While our hopes and plans were to have students and staff return to school, this difficult decision is based on our goal to prioritize a safe learning environment for students, teachers, staff and families," the district said in a statement.

The district says it may move to a different model as conditions around the virus change.

In July, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz gave schools the ability to decide what model of learning they would use.

The Minnesota Department of Health set guidelines for distanced, hybrid and in-person learning models based on recent virus activity.