LAUSD schools, teachers ink deal

Students will get more ‘ live’ interaction in distance learning as campuses remain shut.

With children mired in distance learning and many struggling academically, Los Angeles teachers will take on more live online interaction with students next semester, under an agreement announced Friday. Also under the deal, school nurses will conduct campus-based coronavirus tests.

The pact between the teachers union and the Los Angeles Unified School District was essential for the nation’s second- largest school system; the agreement’s predecessor would have expired Dec. 31. And, based on current infection rates, a return to campus in January is almost impossible under state health guidelines.

“This progress in online instruction ref lects the shared learning of all who

[ work in schools about the need to maximize the interaction between teachers and students and their families,” L. A. schools Supt. Austin Beutner said in a statement.

“We are gratified to reach an agreement to extend the distance learning agreement, which is what our students need right now,” said Cecily Myart- Cruz, president of United Teachers Los Angeles. “In the face of the upheaval we are all dealing with, educators, students and families need stability most of all.”

The new side letter to the teachers’ contract goes at least part of the way to addressing complaints from critics — including many parents and some community groups who have called for increased daily live interaction between students and teachers.

“This agreement still leaves Los Angeles Unified with less learning time, less support for teachers, less partnership with families and less focus on racial equity than other large California school districts,” said Seth Litt, executive director of Parent Revolution, a local advocacy group that has provided support for a lawsuit filed on behalf of families who contend that the district is violating their legal right to an education.

There also are parents who would settle for nothing less than a return to full- time in- person instruction. Others support staying in distance learning, while some worry that current practices force students to remain online for too long. No strategy has emerged that offers full academic support and an elimination of risk for school employees and the families they serve. Making strides in that direction has become more complicated as a COVID- 19 surge stretches local healthcare resources beyond their capacity.

L. A. County schools have not been able to reopen to all students because virus transmission rates never dropped low enough. But campuses can open under waivers for students in kindergarten through second grade. And schools can bring in students with special needs, at up to 25% of total capacity.

L. A. Unified, with about 465,000 students, has moved cautiously. By early December, the district had provided in- person instructional services to about 3,000 students, and about 1,700 athletes were coming in for outdoor conditioning, according to information released this week.

Citing the latest surge, Beutner suspended in- person services two weeks before winter break, a move the teachers union supported.

The new agreement will cover the remainder of the 2020- 21 school year if necessary. It also sets Jan. 24 as the deadline for reaching an agreement on what on- campus instruction will look like when it resumes. A union representative said January is out of the question for a return to campus.

A recent district survey of employees represented by the teachers union indicated that 24% are prepared to return to schools; 55% said they are able to go back but prefer to remain in distance learning; 18% said an underlying health condition would make it potentially unsafe for them to return; 2% said they are 65 or older and would explore continuing to work remotely; and 1% said they intend to apply for unpaid leave.

Under the new pact, nurses have to help carry out the district’s testing program. They will receive an extra $ 3.50 an hour for such work completed in person on a campus and additional pay when the work extends beyond normal hours.