JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Parents who want their Duval County students to start the fall semester with virtual learning have until the end of the day Friday to sign them up for Duval HomeRoom or Duval Virtual Instruction Academy.
The original deadline for Duval HomeRoom was last week, but Superintendent Dr. Diana Greene announced it would be extended by one week to July 31.
Duval County’s current reopening plan, which must be approved by the Florida Department of Education, involves phasing students back, beginning Aug. 20.
In the plan, only kindergarten and elementary students would attend in-person classes five days a week until Sept. 14. After Sept. 14, all middle school and high school students would then have the option to attend face-to-face classes five days a week, under the plan. That September date can be extended due to COVID-19 conditions at that time, Greene said.
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Duval County Public Schools told News4Jax that as of Wednesday, 25,031 students out of more than 139,000 in the district have signed up for Duval HomeRoom so far.
The option 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, but the accounts can take up to 24 hours to process. To do so, visit https://dcps.duvalschools.org/focus. (View directions below.)
The district currently is planning three options for parents to choose from.
In addition to Duval HomeRoom, parents can opt for a version of face-to-face learning or for Duval Virtual Instruction Academy, which is virtual learning for the entire school year for all grades 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 also Friday. 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.
- Be sure to use Google Chrome.