Parents, students, teachers, and others in Palm Beach County on Thursday started adjusting to the likelihood school instruction will begin virtually next month.

Citing the recent rise in coronavirus cases in Palm Beach County, School Board members, meeting in workshop session Wednesday, backed distance learning as the method to start the new school year, set to begin August 10.

The School Board is expected to formally approve the move at a meeting next Wednesday.

“One of the biggest worries to me is that these kids are not going to have their teachers eyes on them,” said Diana Reese, a volunteer guardian ad litem, who represents children’s interests in court.

Reese is also a spokeswoman for Speak Up for Kids, a not-for-profit organization supporting the Palm Beach County’s guardian ad litem program, as well as Foster Palm Beach, which recruits foster parents.

Reese pointed out teachers, like police and health care professionals, are state-mandated reporters of abuse.

“They really see what’s happening with these kids on a day-to-day basis,” said Reese. “They notice changes in their behaviors, sometimes before someone else.”

Florida school districts now have until the end of the month to submit their reopening plans. The Department of Education must sign off once plans are conveyed.