Deadline to sign Duval County students up for online learning pushed back

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Duval County parents now have until July 31 to decide if their children will take part in Duval HomeRoom when school starts.

The original deadline was Friday, but Superintendent Dr. Diana Greene said Thursday that it will be extended by one week.

With multiple options for different grade levels, it can be a bit confusing to make such an important decision.

There are currently three options for parents to choose from.

All parents can opt for a version of face-to-face learning. For elementary school students, it’s five days a week. For middle and high school students, it’s hybrid learning with a mix of face-to-face and virtual learning, phasing into face-to-face five days a week.

The second option is Duval HomeRoom, which allows a student to start the school year with virtual learning while staying connected to his or her assigned school and then the student can opt to go to school for face-to-face learning after each grading period. This is for parents who are not comfortable sending their children back to school right now but may be in the future. To sign up a student up for Duval HomeRoom, parents need to create a Focus Account if they don’t already have one. To do so, visit https://dcps.duvalschools.org/focus. (View directions below.) Since these accounts take up 24 hours to process, you’re going to want to do that as soon as possible. Again, the deadline to sign up for Duval HomeRoom is Friday, July 31.

On Wednesday afternoon, Duval County Public Schools told News4Jax that out of more than 139,000 students, 13,551 have signed up for Duval HomeRoom so far.

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The third choice for all grades is Duval Virtual Instruction Academy, which is virtual learning for the entire school year with its own teachers separate from the assigned school. According to the school district, DVIA is designed for children who travel the world, pursue premier-level sports or prefer the quiet and safety of their home. Students will have to be very independent on staying up to date on their work, and once parents opt into this choice, their child is committed for the entire school year. The deadline to sign up for DVIA is Friday, July 31. Click here for the enrollment and registration steps.

News4Jax confirmed with that school district that if parents don’t pick an option, their child will be automatically signed up for face-to-face learning.

Directions for parent registration for Focus

1. Create a Duval County Public Schools Public User Account:

2. Follow the on-screen directions to complete the form.

• Be sure to enter your first and last name, your personal email address, and password when creating the account.
• Make note of the email address and password you used as it will be used again in the future.

3. If applicable, link your child to your account on the Student Information page by entering their school name, student ID# and last name.

• Note: You can connect all of your children within this one account. You do not need to create a separate account for each child!

4. Confirm your account information and click Finish.

5. Go to the email account you used to create your user account and open the email from FIMservice@duvalschools.org. Click on the “Email Validation Link.”

• Your email account must be verified within 7 days using the link from the email.

6. After verifying your email account through the email from FIMservice@duvalschools.org you now have 21 days to visit your child’s school to validate your Parent/Guardian account and student link.

• Be sure to take a photo ID to the school and have a staff member approve your request.

7. Within 24 hours after the school verifies your account, using the email address and password used to create your Parent/Guardian Account, login to OneView or Focus.

• OneView: https://OneView.duvalschools.org.
• Focus: https://duval.focusschoolsoftware.com.
• Be sure to use Google Chrome.