The State Auditor also criticized Department of Education officials for not cooperating with its investigation.

The original plan was to have students learn remotely for the first four weeks of the school year.

The Department of Education approved Acellus Learning Accelerator as an option for students learning remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The department plans to update the numbers every Friday afternoon.

State education officials have been increasingly criticized for not releasing information when positive cases occur.

The responsibility has fallen to local administrators as the Department of Education continues to wait on COVID-19 guidance from the Department of Health.

The department is spending millions of dollars on laptops and mobile hotspots for low-income families but some devices have yet to arrive.

Though most DOE public schools will be online-only for the first four weeks, hybrid models initially presented tough choices for parents.

Union officials say many schools are telling teachers to come back to campus Monday but department administrators insist it’s just for short online training for students.