London's two major school boards are ending in-person summer school, a move that has caught teachers' unions off-guard and some say will hurt students.

All high school summer school classes at the Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) and the London District School Board (LDCSB) are only being offered through an e-learning platform this year, CBC News has learned.

The move will require students to log in Monday to Friday in July and spend six hours per day doing self-directed, asynchronous learning. It's a model that won't work for many students, say some educators.

"In our view, in-person is better than online as far as the quality of the education that students receive," said John Bernans, head of the union that represents public high school teachers. "The main concern is the quality of education and whether students are successful in that kind of environment."

Bernans learned of the move to e-learning from CBC News on Monday, the same day registration for summer school began, he said. Students who are re-taking credits in summer school because they failed them the first time around, called credit-recovery, will also have to do so online.

The move will save the public school board $400,000 and while cost was "absolutely a consideration" for the cash-strapped board, it wasn't the main motivator, said Bill Tucker, the Thames Valley board's director of education.

"We wanted to look how we can increase access to summer school programs. In past years, we've had waiting lists for in-person summer school," Tucker said. "There's also the issue of transportation, especially outside of the city of London. By going online, we believe we're increasing accessibility for students."

Online classes are allowed to have 35 students per class, while in-person classes can only have 25 students per class, Tucker added, so more students will be able to take classes and fewer teachers will have to be hired.

Until this year, students were able to choose from online or in-person options for summer school. Both the Toronto and Ottawa public school boards continue to give students a choice this summer.

"Students who have a high degree of self-motivation and the ability to work independently are best suited for eLearning courses," the public school board said on its website.

Students will have to log in every morning to check in with a teacher and are expected to spend six hours daily on their e-Learning course, plus additional time for assignments and studying, according to the public board's website.

That will be very difficult for many students, said Beyhan Farhadi, a professor at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto whose research focuses on policy and equity.

"It is always the case that students with the greatest needs are the ones who are going to bear the greatest burden of austerity," Farhadi said. "Students with disabilities, those who require social supports, students who struggle to keep up, they're the ones who carry the burden of such cuts."

It's impossible to re-create the interaction between students and teacher in an asynchronous environment, she added. "Students don't just come to school to get the grade. They come to school to experience a social education, a cultural education, connection, belonging. People connect to each other in more ways than just words on a discussion forum," she said.

In asynchronous courses, the function of the teacher gets reduced to someone who evaluates more than teachers, Farhadi added.

Officials are working with libraries in rural parts of the board so students can go there if they don't have reliable Internet at home, Tucker said.

"We're not just going to cut kids loose. There will be resources and support," he said. "If we find that enrollment has significantly declined, we will have to re-examine this."

Last year, 2,660 students at the Catholic board completed summer school courses. "Originally as a result of COVID-related restrictions, we found that online summer school enrollment is the preferred option for students and families," said spokesperson Mark Adkinson.

"Online-only is also the more equitable way for the LDCSB to offer summer school as it opened up options to students who live in the counties or rural areas. Previously, in-person summer school was offered only in the city of London, which was a barrier to many families."