California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a plan Wednesday for schools to resume in-person teaching next spring.
What We Know:
- Newsom’s plan will begin with the youngest students and those who have struggled most with remote learning while helping with $2 billion in state aid for coronavirus testing, personal protective equipment, and expanded classroom ventilation.
“Safety is key. Just reopening a school for in-person instruction on its own is not going to address the issue of safety,” Newsom stated, ensuring penalties for schools that don’t obey safety rules.
- California’s largest teachers union President said he was happy Newsom is “finally realizing” the need for stricter safety standards as part of any reopening plan.
- California Teachers Association president E. Toby Boyd mentioned he expects the formal guidelines Newsom intends to release next week will generate a consistent statewide plan rather than creating more uncertainty for parents and school districts.
- The administration’s commitment to providing frequent testing and contact tracing when outbreaks occur will be critical to making teachers feel content again in the classroom, mentioned the state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond.
- Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious-disease specialist, mentioned Newsom’s assertion that schools can reopen safely, noting in an online briefing what he described an “almost counterintuitive” finding that schools appear to be doing a lot better in regards to the level of infection than the rest of the community.
“If you really want to get society back to some form of normality, one of the first things you have to do is to get the children back in school,” Dr. Fauci said.
- Newsom said his proposal was driven by increasing data indicating lower risks and increased benefits from in-person instruction, especially for the youngest students.
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan comes amid heightened pressure from parents to reopen schools and allow in-person learning once again.
