Arlington Public Schools is delaying the return of many students to school buildings at least through the end of this calendar year, Superintendent Dr. Francisco Durán announced Monday.

ARLNow first reported the news.

A small cohort of students, those with disabilities who need direct support, are still scheduled to return to Arlington classrooms on Nov. 4 as part of the district’s “Level 1” reopening. But APS has paused plans to bring back “Level 2” students, including the youngest children and students in career and technical education programs. These students had been slated to start returning on Nov. 12 for some in-person learning as part of a hybrid model, Durán said.

“We are prepared to provide in-person learning support to the 236 students in Level 1, using every recommended health and safety protocol to make this transition safely,” Durán wrote in a message to families. He said the health metrics, however, would not allow for more students to return this month.

“We continue to see the case incidence rate in our area increasing, not decreasing. Level 2 comprises significantly larger numbers of students and staff. Moving too quickly to Level 2, while case levels are still rising represents a safety risk and could cause further disruption to our schools.”

Durán had already suggested he was concerned about rising case numbers. Last week, he told families the health and safety metrics were “not where they need to be to proceed with Level 2,” and promised to announce a firm decision shortly.

In a recent family survey, the more than 13,000 students eligible to return in Level 2, 52% chose the option for hybrid learning. Forty-two percent said they preferred to continue with full-time distance learning, and another 6% did not respond to the survey.

Cases throughout the D.C. region have been on the rise. Today, D.C. Public Schools also paused its reopening plans after failing to reach an agreement with the teachers union.