Ledyard — The Board of Education voted 7-1 to approve the hybrid reopening model for the 2020-21 school year at a special meeting Tuesday.

The hybrid model plans for two student cohorts, each of which will attend school in person two days a week — either Monday and Tuesday or Thursday and Friday — and at home three days a week; all students will be learning virtually on Wednesdays, as the schools undergo cleaning between cohorts.

The district plans to continue this model through Sept. 30, and the board will revisit operations at its Sept. 16 meeting to determine whether a return to full in-school instruction is feasible on Oct. 1. That plan may be modified sooner, should local or state public health authorities deem in-person education unsafe.

The overall plan for the district, which includes models for in-person, virtual and hybrid instruction as well as safety and mitigation protocols for the district to use in any case, was approved unanimously in a special meeting last week. After a motion to approve the hybrid model failed on a 3-5 vote, the board decided to table the model decision to give members more time to review the information.

In the discussion preceding the vote, several board members thanked the community members that submitted comments and feedback to the board, each of them having read the nearly 200 emails that were sent in. Members said the vast majority were in favor of the hybrid model, and they were touched by the amount of time that people put in to voice their opinions.

Board member Rob Russak, the lone dissenting vote, said during the meeting that he wants the board to establish clear guidelines ahead of the Sept. 16 meeting so members can base any decision on the model on statistics.