Catholic schools plan waivers, remote learning, as officials weigh safe reopenings catholicnewsagency.com

As the beginning of the fall school term approaches, Catholic schools in dioceses across the U.S. are asking the parents of students returning in person to sign waivers of liability amid the risk of coronavirus infection.

At the same time, many dioceses are also offering remote learning options for parents who do not wish to send their children back to school in person.

One such diocese is St. Petersburg, which sent a letter to the parents of its nearly 13,000 students on Monday, asking them to sign a waiver of liability, choosing to accept the risk that their children may be sickened by coronavirus at school.

The letter acknowledges that although the diocese and each Catholic school has implemented reasonable preventative measures, schools cannot guarantee that parents or students will not contract COVID-19…