Fairfax County Public School students will return to five days of in-person instruction this fall — the latest Northern Virginia school system to approve a pre-pandemic learning schedule.

Elsewhere in Virginia, Loudoun and Arlington Public Schools have also announced a return to five-day in-person classes this fall. In Maryland, Montgomery County Public Schools has approved a full week in-person learning schedule for the start of the upcoming academic year. D.C. has yet to announce plans to open public schools for in-person classes five days a week.

Fairfax County school officials also announced during a work session Tuesday the school system will bring all grade levels — more than 109,000 students and staff — back for in-person instruction this week. Students currently learning in-person must continue attending classes by March 26 or risk going back to virtual learning. Virtual students have the option of requesting a switch to in-person no later than March 26. Additional openings may be made later depending on capacity and available resources.

The return to in-person classes in Fairfax County is marked by a decrease in COVID-19 transmission rates, an increase in the availability of protective equipment, and additional staff vaccinations. Fairfax County Superintendent Scott Brabrand said the school system had almost no virus transmission since reopening earlier this year.

School system data finds more than 99% of students and staff currently scheduled to return to in-person classes — more than 86,000 people — have tested negative for COVID-19. Only 19 cases have been reported between Jan. 26 and March 15. A majority of staff and school employees who wanted a COVID-19 vaccine have also been inoculated.

However, virtual learning is still a popular option among families. In Oct. 2020, 56% of school system families said they prefer virtual instruction, and 47% said they prefer in-person instruction.

Brabrand said the school system will phase out hybrid learning by fall, with limited availability next year, but wants to be mindful of the school system’s most vulnerable students by slowly transitioning to in-person instruction.

“Many of our most impacted and most vulnerable kids did worse [this year],” Brabrand said. “And we need to go back five days if we want to get them back to their educational careers.”

As of March, a majority of Asian and Black families surveyed by the school system opted for virtual learning, with a near-even split among families from Hispanic, American-Indian, and multiple racial backgrounds. Brabrand said hybrid learning could still play a role in the school’s learning model post-pandemic through an in-house model.

Last month, Gov. Ralph Northam called for school systems to offer in-person learning options by March 15, and Virginia Democrats followed suit with a bill that would require five days of in-person instruction for at least 15 hours a week.

In student affairs, school officials found student stress increased from fall 2019, especially among high school students, who saw a 15% reported increase. Fairfax County plans to have in-person graduation this year, with school officials awaiting further guidance from Northam before planning more in-person events.

The grading scale will also change. Students can choose a “pass” instead of a letter grade in two classes and will receive a “no mark” instead of an F. Those who fail a class can redeem their grade in summer school, which acts as a fifth term. Similarly, final exams will only raise a student’s grade point average.

Some parents are concerned that such a change could debase grades.

“Grading inflation is one thing, grading inequity is another,” Brabrand said.

Summer school will be in-person this year. Brabrand said the school system is allocating 10 times more funding into this year’s summer program than any other year.