News Update

Los Angeles County districts can now apply for waivers to open elementary schools for in-person instruction

Although Los Angeles County is still on the state’s county monitoring list due to a high number of Covid-19 cases, its case numbers have fallen below 200 per 100,000 residents. This is the threshold that allows elementary schools to seek waivers to provide in-person instruction to students in grades K-6, the state’s Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly said during a Tuesday news briefing.

As a Los Angeles County resident and former county employee, Ghaly said he trusts county officials to make good decisions for students in their local communities regarding waivers, in partnership with districts, labor unions, parents and community members. Ghaly also said that updated state guidance for reopening businesses to be released later this week would not impact schools, so districts in counties on the monitoring list can continue to plan for possibly bringing students back to campuses after their counties have been removed from the monitoring list for 14 consecutive days, unless they receive elementary waivers.