LEXINGTON, Ky. — The first day of classes for students in Fayette County will start on Wednesday, August 26.

But now, school leaders are discussing how to best implement online learning for it’s more than 40,000 students.

The Fayette County Board of Education says they are now reviewing two different online options for students to participate in when class starts back in the next few weeks.

The first option is a model called "NTI 2DL", which is non-traditional instruction, but focuses on allowing students to have more time with their teachers, more direct instruction and more consistency while using various virtual resources. But the intent is to allow students to return to the classroom for in-person learning when coronavirus cases in Fayette County decrease.

"So we're still waiting for the district to give us more details about how that schedule is gonna look every day. Once the expectations for the teachers were laid, what are they're gonna look like? A regular school day where they'll be teaching math every day at the same time? Reading every day at the same time? We don't have those details yet. I think that's a question for families too," explains Jessica Hiler, President of the Fayette County Educators Association

The second option school leaders in Fayette County are considering is a Virtual Learning Academy, where students would participate in a full semester of classes online with no plans to return to the classroom.

Students would not have a specific teacher. Instead, they would have access to multiple teachers across the entire school district for help with school work.

"There's some families that just aren't comfortable with going back at all. And so, I think, the district wants to give them an opportunity to do something where they feel like they can stay home all year. So, maybe that is the best option for those families but I don't really know what it's gonna look like yet and it sounded like not sure, the district doesn't really know what it will look like either," adds Hiler

Fayette County Board of Education members also settled on several dates throughout the upcoming school year to evaluate COVID-19’s current impact in the region and then will make additional decisions at that time on the status of returning students into the classroom.

Chromebooks have been purchased for every student, so they have access to digital curriculum programs. There also will be hotspots available for families who do not have access to the internet.