Schools consider fall reopening
Students and teachers are expected to return to campuses with some major changes.
The state’s students and teachers are expected to return to campuses with some major changes.
Most public school districts in California are planning to reopen campuses on their regular start dates in late August and September — but the new normal amid the coronavirus outbreak probably will include masks, daily school sanitation and smaller class sizes to maintain six feet of distance, state Supt. of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond said Wednesday.
Also, some districts probably will offer a combination of in-person and distance learning, something parents have asked for, Thurmond said. But the new safety accommodations will require more funding, Thurmond said during a news conference Wednesday, almost a week after the governor’s May budget revision slashed about $19 billion from schools over the next two years.
“We believe that our school districts cannot reopen safely if they have to implement these kinds of cuts,” Thurmond said, echoing the governor’s plea for additional federal aid for schools. “We need to maintain all that we have in our educational sector, and we’re going to need to be able to do more.”
California schools have been closed since midMarch because of the coronavirus crisis, disrupting the education of 6.1 million students. Educators have scrambled to provide distance learning for students and have attempted to provide computers and internet access to an estimated 1 in 5 students without digital access. However, student needs have not been met evenly, especially in small and rural districts and those serving students from lowincome families.
Last month, Gov. Gavin Newsom said schools could physically open as early as July. Thurmond said the state was not mandating when schools would open and that the state Education Department was working with public health officials, school leaders and workplace safety experts to compile guidelines for how to do so safely.
“There will not be a common opening, rather school districts will make their own decisions about when they will open,” he said. The Education Department will keep track of district reopenings as they’re scheduled, he said.
Although some schools may open early, he said, many will end the school year when they normally do and take some time to plan for next year as well as “to address fatigue for educators.” Summer, though, is also potentially a time to provide enrichment for students “who may need some additional support to offset learning gaps that have occurred” during the shutdown, Thurmond said.
School district leaders say that they need answers to complex challenges involving reopening campuses and need government funding to do so. They are asking multiple questions:
Will adequate testing and contact tracing be available? Will schools be able to procure the necessary protective equipment, and will staff receive adequate cleaning equipment and training in how to use it? How will kids catch up on the learning they missed during school closures? How will schools pay for the necessary reductions in class sizes that experts say will have to be a part of the new normal?
The proposed budget hit to schools worsens existing financial challenges, and district-level leaders say it does not go far enough to pay for pandemic-related costs. Newsom did allot $4.4 billion in emergency federal aid to schools and redirected an additional $2.3 billion to ease the sting, reallocating money originally intended to reduce a long-term shortfall in educators’ pensions.
This week, superintendents of six of the state’s largest school districts — including L.A., San Diego and Long Beach — wrote in a letter to lawmakers that the governor’s May budget revision would hinder schools’ ability to reopen.
On Thursday, Thurmond is scheduled to host a webinar “focus group” for school districts to discuss reopening with guidance.