KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Wednesday is the deadline for parents to choose virtual school in Knox County.
In a system with more than 60 thousand kids parents say there's a lot to consider.
Trista Cody has a son who just graduated and one who is headed to the 11th grade.
As a parent, she said there's one factor at the top of her mind right now.
“Health, I have a son who when he was born was diagnosed with sickle cell anemia," she said.
Cody said he also doesn't have a spleen and just fought off pneumonia last month.
"He's on anti-biotics for the rest of his life," she said.
For this reason she's keeping him home and thankfully her mom can help out. However she knows many parents don't have that choice, making the decision more difficult.
“They want their kids to stay home but they have to work so they don't have that option," Cody said.
With only a week to decide, she's wishing parents had more time.
“It's a major decision that affects the entire family and you're giving me a week to do it," Cody said.
Melissa Cox feels the same way.
“I feel like we should have more time to navigate this decision," Cox said.
For her the decision has three different layers, making it that much more complicated.
"I have a child in high school, in middle school and in elementary school and each child is unique and they need certain things from school," she said.
That means she had to decide what's best for each one and consider the health aspect and what could come with virtual.
“They said they could be online for 4 hours a day so I does that mean sitting in front of a computer screen the whole time," Cox asked.
She said it is a lot to consider.
“I may end up doing three different things for my three different kids," she said.
“It is a conversation both Cox and Cody said they've had with other parents to try to figure out what's next and what's best.
“We're full time working parents just trying to navigate this," Cox said.