The Connecticut State Department of Education published "Adapt, Advance, Achieve: Connecticut's Plan to Learn and Grow Together" on June 29, and gave schools until July 24 to formulate their strategies in response.

Last Friday the state Department of Education released a new document, containing the answers to questions frequently asked by the school districts, to "provide clarity on a variety of topics" found in the original guidelines. 

At the top of the list is a question about the length of the 2020-21 school year. The traditional calendar of 180 days of school and 900 hours of instruction is still mandatory, the state clarified. But given the many uncertainties, a school will be considered to have fulfilled its obligation so long as it offers school for 180 days. "The school district has met its obligation to provide the 180 days, irrespective of the fact that certain students may not have been present for various reasons." Importantly, all students who opt into remote learning will be considered full-time public school students.