Baltimore County Public Schools released a plan Thursday to return students to school in phases.

On Monday, teachers were able to begin teaching virtual classes from their classrooms if they wanted to. In a message to staff, Superintendent Darryl Williams laid out the next steps, WBAL-TV 11 reports.

The timeline released by school district officials

On Oct. 19, all teachers and staff will return to school buildings.

By Nov. 13, small groups of students will return to school buildings. Those include students with disabilities who attend separate public day schools (like Ridge Ruxton School) and self-contained regional programs. They also include students in preschool, pre-kindergarten and kindergarten. Families of these students will be surveyed early next month to determine who wants to return. For families who don't want to send their children back, online instruction will remain available.

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Schools will operate in line with guidance from county health officials and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As conditions change, the district's reopening plan may as well.

Cindy Sexton, president of the Teachers Association of Baltimore County, said there were talks to bring small groups of students back but that she was "very surprised" to hear that faculty and staff are being forced to return to buildings next month.

"We are concerned that the schools are not healthy," Sexton said. "We still don't know the transmission rate. We know the (number of) cases per 100,000 is not where it needs to be for safe reopening." Read more at WBAL