FAIRFAX, Va. (ABC7) — Fairfax County Schools superintendent Scott Braband recommended Tuesday afternoon that all students begin the school year with all-virtual learning, and he wants to keep school all-virtual through at least the first quarter.

Although there was no formal vote, the majority of the board agreed with the superintendent’s recommendation Tuesday night.

That basically gives the superintendent the authority to move forward with planning for an all virtual start to the school year, according to a FCPS spokesperson.

Braband previously planned to have some students in school at least two days a week.

RELATED: .1% COVID mortality rate in kids: How many students is .1% in each DC-area school system?

The announcement came shortly before the Fairfax County School Board met starting at 2 p.m. Tuesday to discuss the return-to-school plan.

President of Fairfax County Federation of Teachers, Tina Williams issued the following statement Tuesday night:

We are pleased FCPS is putting students and staff safety first and listening to the science, educational experts and our community by opting for a 100 percent virtual start. Everyone, but nobody more than our educators, want to open schools and get all kids back as quickly as possible, but we must open schools as safely as possible. Unfortunately, the health crisis doesn’t make in person classes possible right now.

Brabrand says he's very concerned Fairfax County will not be able to avoid seeing a spike in COVID-19 cases like other parts of Virginia and the country are seeing.

However, at Tuesday afternoon's board meeting members were told numbers in the county itself were stable, leading one board member to question why Brabrand no longer wants any students to physically go to school two days a week to start the school year.

RELATED: DeVos calls out Fairfax County Public Schools as she pushes for schools to reopen in fall

Ahead of that meeting, Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) released guidelines for trying to make in-person classes as safe as possible this coming school year -- if they happen.

They addressed how long certain students should stay in isolation and quarantine, in addition to details of a school system partnership with the county’s health department for contact tracing if someone tested positive for COVID-19.

Under a hybrid model, guidelines said students who tested positive for COVID would be required to stay home until they had three consecutive days without a fever (without using fever-reducing medication), improving symptoms, and were at least 10 days removed from their first symptoms. The school system says those requirements were based on CDC and Virginia Dept. of Health guidelines.

Parents in Fairfax County were given a choice of virtual learning five days a week or two days of in-person school with three days of home learning.

The Fairfax County Federation of Teachers tweeted "we're urging for a virtual start & for FCPS to adopt our 11 Pillars of a Safe Reopening to keep all staff & students safe."

RELATED: Academy of Pediatrics wants kids 'physically present' in schools this fall. Here's why.

Also Tuesday, the Fairfax Education Association organized a "Return to School Car Rally and Motor March" in the afternoon.

For about 40 minutes teachers and others with the association drove in circles with their horns blaring near Fairfax County Public Schools headquarters in Falls Church.

It was well-attended, according to ABC7's Tom Roussey.

Tuesday night after the meeting, Scott Braband issued the following letter to the community:

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

The changing course of the COVID-19 pandemic with infection rates surging both nationally and regionally has required us to alter our plans for school year 2020-21. Today, the Fairfax County School Board supported my revised recommendation that we begin the 2020-21 school year with virtual learning for all students. The online school year will begin, as scheduled, September 8. Should health conditions improve, we would first bring back students for intervention supports on a limited basis. Following that, we would work to bring students back to school as soon as possible starting with elementary school students, select PreK-12 special education students and English Learners.

This was not an easy decision, but after reviewing the best available health data and continuing to gather input from teachers, staff, students, and families, we have determined that full-time online instruction is the only safe option at this time. The pandemic looks much different now than it did even three weeks ago. Although infection rates in Fairfax County have declined and are relatively stable, 33 percent of our employees live outside the county. The threat posed by the virus does not recognize borders or boundaries.

We know this is very disappointing news for the families who chose the two-day-a-week in-person learning option in our recent preference questionnaire. We all want in-person learning to resume as quickly as possible. We will reassess health conditions regularly to determine when students can begin in-person instruction, if science and data suggest it is safe to do so.

The Board also directed my office to determine clear multifaceted metrics to be used to determine if we can start to offer in-person instruction starting with our most vulnerable students. They requested an update regarding the metrics to be presented to the Board no later than August 15.

The online instruction model will be the same one offered to families in our recent survey. For distance learning, our first priority is to provide access and equity in the learning experience for each of our students. We understand that there are significant academic and social/emotional challenges to our students learning remotely. We have strengthened our digital learning model so that we can provide an even more rigorous and engaging virtual-learning program with greater connections for all students at all grade levels.

Online learning provides four days (Tuesday through Friday) of live, face-to-face instruction with teachers.

At the elementary level, students will receive real-time, interactive instruction each day.

The elementary day will also consist of additional small group instruction, intervention supports, and independent learning activities assigned to students.

Middle and high school students will follow an A/B block schedule.

Student work will be graded and attendance is required.

Mondays will remain a teacher planning day with intervention supports for selected students that we hope can be provided in-person.

We will dedicate ourselves to spending the weeks before September 8 preparing resources and help for parents and students. We will provide additional training for our teachers to better meet the needs of our students and provide distance learning supports and guidance for our families. Your child’s school will be communicating with you regarding schedules and other information to prepare for online learning.

As we move forward, our decision-making will remain guided by safety, equity, science, and the many needs of our stakeholders in the midst of a dangerous global pandemic.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Scott Brabrand, Superintendent

Fairfax County Public Schools