DPS To Deny Most Teacher's COVID-19 Accommodation Requests

As Denver Public Schools prepares to re-open, the district has said it will have to deny most teachers COVID-19 accommodation requests.

In-person learning resumes in January. The district says it needs enough staff to operate the building and teach students.

When the pandemic caused schools to shift to online learning back in August, teachers could apply for COVID-19 accommodations that allowed them to work remotely full time if they had an at risk person in their household.

The accommodations also allowed staff to work from home if they needed to care for children or elderly relatives.

Teachers believed these accommodations would last until the end of the coronavirus pandemic, but an internal email sent out to staff before Thanksgiving informed them otherwise.

These COVID-19 accommodations will expire on December 31.

While DPS said it is still accepting accommodation requests, most will have to be denied.

In the email announcing the end of the accommodations, the district wrote, "given DPS' operational need for more in-person work, we will not be able to offer fully remote work to employees with at-risk household members."

According to FOX31, the district will be allowing teachers and staff to apply for more flexible schedules, additional protections, and breaks.

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