CINCINNATI — As Cincinnati Public Schools district officials planned to meet Saturday to review their COVID-19 safety plan, one couple urged board of education members to prioritize making in-person instruction, or a blend of in-person and remote learning, an option again.

Scott and Katrina Hardy said they and their three children -- all CPS students -- have rolled with the punches the last 10 months after the district went fully remote in light of the coronavirus pandemic reaching the Tri-State. With the exception of a short period before the Thanksgiving holiday break, CPS students have not seen their classrooms since March.

"CPS administrators and board members are the ones who have kept our schools closed while other school districts have returned," the Hardys wrote. "Now is the time for you to offer the children and parents of CPS the option to return to 'in person' learning."

Scott Hardy told WCPO Friday that he thinks it's time the district adjust its plan based on the latest data and recommendations by health officials.

"We just thought that, as the guidelines change, it's time for Cincinnati public to step up and adjust their policies and adjust their criteria for getting kids back into school," he said. "When I see friends at work and they say, 'Oh, how are your kids doing in school?' they are shocked when I tell them they're not in school."

In their letter, the Hardys pointed to state officials' decision to suspend the requirement that any K-12 student exposed to COVID-19 quarantine at home for two weeks and attend school virtually and to other nearby districts that have since returned to blended instruction models.

"It just would be so much easier for the kids, and I know for the teachers, to be in school, where they can pull out groups and have different groups working on different things," Katrina Hardy said.

They are also hopeful the rollout of vaccines will convince district leaders at least to offer the option to send kids back to the classroom.

"Above anything else, we believe in choices for people," Scott Hardy said.

WCPO reached out to CPS Friday but did not immediately hear back. The CPS Board of Education will meet with Superintendent Laura Mitchell at 8:30 a.m. Saturday.

Per Gov. Mike DeWine, an Ohio school can be eligible to receive vaccinations for its staff only if they indicate by Monday, Jan. 18, a plan to return to in-person learning by March 1. The Ohio Department of Health said schools can submit such plans later than Monday, but those schools will sit further down the list for vaccination delivery.

Read the Hardys' full letter to CPS officials in the viewer below:

Open Letter to Cincinnati Public Schools re: in-person learning by WCPO Web Team on Scribd

Kids are heading back to class across the country, learning in person this year. But COVID-19 is forcing some students to quarantine, and others to close school doors. 

This all comes as a handful of states go against CDC guidance for universal masking, and the federal government threatens to step in. 

"I have no problem if you wear your mask and if you want to stay home because you're scared. Please do so. That is your right and your choice, and I would like the same choice for my child," said parent Megan Collins. 

"Personal choice ends when pubic health begins," said Damaris Allen.

Three more school districts in Florida -- Hillsborough, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade Public Schools -- joined Alachua and Broward County Public Schools defying state orders that leave the decision with parents. The latter two are already under investigation by the Florida State Board of Education.

The potential repercussions could have implications financially and for school board seats. 

"We have to have the autonomy to make the decisions that are in the best interest of our students in a health crisis," said Vickie Cartwright, Ph.D., the interim superintendent of Broward County Public Schools. 

"I certainly think it takes away local control of the school district and it feels very much as a form of retaliation and punitive," said Carlee Simon, Ph.D., the superintendent of Alachua County Public Schools. 

The U.S. Secretary of Education offering support to educators and noting the agency sent letters to states prohibiting universal mask mandates, including Florida, Texas, Arizona, Iowa, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Utah on the list.

"You have all these problems and yet the White House and Biden their number one issue is they're so intent on having the governor force kindergarteners, first graders to have to wear masks for 8 hours a day," said Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. "They want to take that decision away from the parent and they want to vest that in local government."

This week, the White House directed the U.S. Secretary of Education to use its oversight against states standing in the way of schools, the President hinting at legal action.

"As I've said before, if you aren't going to fight COVID-19, at least get out of the way of everyone else who is trying. You know, we're not going to sit by as governors try to block and intimidate educators protecting our children," said President Biden.

The new guidance may raise more questions though about the role of states and federal government.

"It gets kind of fuzzy when you get down to the federal government saying they're going to come in and help local school districts protect the rights of students but in some of those states, Florida in particular, the Governor has the prerogative of dismissing, firing, local elected officials. Now that could also wind up in court actions," said Jay Wolfson, a senior associate dean at the University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine. 

This comes as COVID-19 forces schools to temporarily close down just after opening doors, some in Georgia, Mississippi and Texas. 

The virus is also forcing other students and staff to stay home.

Metro Nashville Public Schools reported nearly 1,000 students quarantined or isolated at last check.

Hillsborough County reported nearly 12,000, making up more than 5 percent of its students. 

Both districts are among those defying state orders. 

It remains to be seen what repercussions districts face and what if any steps the U.S. Department of Education takes.

However, in Illinois where universal masking is required, the State Board of Education said it reduced recognition status to ‘on probation’ for 34 school districts for not complying.

If those districts don’t submit an approvable plan, that could lose recognition status. That means loss of access to state funding and state sports participation.

This story was originally reported by Haley Bull on Newsy.com

DENVER — Across the country, a growing number of colleges are making it mandatory for students and staff to be fully vaccinated by the fall semester. Many colleges are saying this can help higher education get back on track.

“This past year, it wasn’t an optimal decision for students or staff for the remote learning,” said Ken McConnellogue, the vice president for communication at the University of Colorado. “We are now working towards operating at normal capacity in the fall. That’s what our staff and students want.”

McConnellogue said that the University of Colorado, a public University, will require its students to be fully vaccinated to go back to in-person learning on campus.

“We are working towards full vaccinations as one of the strategies we need to put in place before fall,” McConnellogue said. “However, just as with our measles and mumps immunization policies we are allowing our students to opt out for medical and religious reasons. There are schools around the country who were out ahead of us on this, but we didn’t so much take our lead from them as much as the state health department and local health department. Plus, we are a research institution with an academic medical campus, and we have substantial expertise in that as well. We feel like we made a very well-informed decision.”

Colleges from California to New York are now moving toward mandating students and staff to be fully vaccinated by the fall semester as well.

However, for some private colleges, like the University of Denver, that offer more flexibility for their requirements.

“As a private school, as long as we are clear about our requirements, we have the flexibility to implement them,” said Sara Watamura with DU. “For example, in the fall we required the flu vaccine and that was not something the state schools felt they were able to do in the timeline they had.”

Watamura said that DU has even been providing vaccines for their students.

“We have provided the opportunity for almost 30,000 vaccinations on campus for DU students and faculty as well as the broader community,” Watamura said.

All 50 states have at least some vaccine mandates for students attending public schools, such as polio, tetanus and whooping cough.

Of course, not all colleges and universities will require a vaccine. But for those colleges that are requiring them, experts believe this could be the key to getting campus life back to normal.