This story was last updated July 15 at 10:59 a.m.

Two Maryland teachers unions and the state PTA have penned a letter calling for a virtual start to the 2020-21 school year.

The heads of the Maryland State Education Association, the Baltimore Teachers Union, and the Maryland PTA sent the letter to Gov. Larry Hogan and State Superintendent of Schools Karen B. Salmon on Tuesday. They jointly called for schools to return with a distance-learning model in the fall for at least the first semester.

“We believe it is the right approach and will allow time for further evaluation of health matrices, stakeholder input, and the educational needs of students on a district-by-district basis to allow for a transition to a hybrid learning model after the year begins and possibly a mostly in-person model later in the school year if and when it is safe,” the letter reads in part.

Hogan’s office did not immediately respond to DCist’s request for comment.

MSEA President Cheryl Bost said during a press conference Tuesday that apparently low coronavirus transmission rates among children and teenagers had been used as a justification for returning to in-person schooling, though there is not enough data to arrive at that conclusion.

“But it also presupposes that there are a number of deaths of students or educators that are acceptable,” Bost said. “There are not.”

Tonya Sweat, the Maryland PTA’s vice resident for advocacy and membership, cited rising COVID-19 case numbers in Texas child care facilities and a summer camp in Missouri that shut down after dozens of staff, counselors, and campers tested positive this week.

“The only reason that schools are not on the list of places where our children have gotten the coronavirus is because we closed them,” Sweat said during the press conference. “Let’s not roll the dice in late August or September.”

The groups also noted a lack of widely available personal protective equipment and the disproportionate risks for Black and Brown students who rely on public transportation to get to school, among other factors.

The letter urges leaders to make this decision now, giving school districts more time to prepare with a cohesive online learning model. It comes as Maryland recorded the largest number of new cases statewide in more than a month on Tuesday — and as Hogan voiced concern about the high infection rate among young people.

In an emailed statement, the Maryland State Department of Education told DCist/WAMU that they welcome “the input of these key stakeholders who have had a voice in the process of developing and offering feedback to our education recovery plan.”

The statement continued, “We look forward to continuing an active dialogue with stakeholders as we move forward together with local system partners to deliver quality, effective and safe education for Maryland students.”

D.C.-area school systems are currently are grappling with how to approach the coming academic year. Montgomery County plans to start its fall semester entirely online and bring students back on a part-time, rotating basis. Arlington County is also exploring starting the school year virtually, according to a new proposal from Superintendent Francisco Durán.

The Trump administration has pushed for schools to reopen next month, threatening to withhold federal funding from schools that do not — a move that would likely require notifying Congress and, in some cases, congressional approval, according to the Washington Post.

The decisions around how and when to reopen schools are also state- and local-level decisions outside the administration’s authority.

Hogan pushed back against the threat last week, saying the state is “not going to take any bullying” regarding reopening schools.

This story has been updated to include a statement from the Maryland State Department of Education.