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East Penn board explains shift to 'remote learning days,' will stop sending elementary devices home
Summary
East Penn officials described a planned change from Flexible Instructional Days to 'remote learning days' for 2026–27, saying K–5 devices will stay in school while grades 6–12 continue to take devices home; staff will develop non-tech elementary learning activities and report details before the school year.
Dr. Campbell told the East Penn School Board the district plans to reframe its inclement-weather alternative from Flexible Instructional Days (FIDs) to "remote learning days" for the 2026–27 school year, a change he said reflects updates to the Pennsylvania School Code and gives the district more operational flexibility. "East Penn is proposing a shift to remote learning days for the 2026 2027 school year," Dr. Campbell said during the board meeting.
Under the proposal, elementary students in grades K–5 will keep district-issued devices for in-school use but will not take them home on remote days; secondary students in grades 6–12 will continue to take devices home as before. "Students in grades K to 5 would not have access to their devices anymore," Dr. Campbell said, adding that teachers will prepare alternative, non-technology learning activities for younger students and remain available to answer questions on remote days.
The change follows legislative revisions that, staff said, loosened parts of the former FID approval and reporting process and allow districts more latitude in how they meet the instructional-day requirement. Staff recommended the district adopt the remote-day term while maintaining the same internal cap of five alternative-instruction days (matching the prior FID cap) to avoid overuse.
Board members asked how the district will ensure instructional quality and equity. Member Mr. Jenowski pressed why a remote day now carries fewer state obligations than an FID and worried a perfunctory worksheet could be counted as instruction. "I'm just not clear under — I understand — why the PDE now thinks, 'I'm just going to leave it to the school districts,'" he said, adding concern about oversight and consistency.
Administration responded that districts now have years of experience planning meaningful alternative-instruction activities, that the district will intentionally design elementary materials that do not require home devices, and that staff will report back to the board on implementation and measurement. Dr. Povitis (administration) said grade-level leaders and the office of teaching and learning will develop activities over the summer, share expectations during August professional development, and communicate details to families at early-year events and ongoing outreach.
No board vote was taken on changing policy terminology itself; the presentation was informational and staff said any implementation details would be shared with the board before being finalized. The district emphasized it will continue to prioritize in-person instruction and treat remote days as an exception after the two snow days included on the calendar are used.
