State to release details about elementary waivers Monday afternoon
Gov. Newsom said the state plans to release specific details Monday afternoon about how elementary schools can apply for waivers to reopen if they are located in one of the counties on the state’s “monitoring list.” Currently, he said 38 counties are on the list, including San Mateo County, which was recently added.
#SanMateoCounty was formally placed on the State’s monitoring list 8/2. Learn how this impacts TK-12 public and private schools: https://t.co/wjLgAixFWK.#ReopeningSchools @SMFCSD @JUHSD1 @SMUHSD @SeqUHSD @SSFUSD @PSD_K8 @CabrilloSchool pic.twitter.com/vAbpXhZsSw
— SMCOE (@SMCOETweet) August 3, 2020
He noted that the state is focusing special attention on eight counties in the Central Valley, which have the highest Covid-19 rates in the state. This region includes San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Merced, Madera, Fresno, Kings, Tulare and Kern counties. According to updated school guidance released last month, no public or private school that is on the monitoring list can open for in-person instruction until the county has been removed from the list or 14 consecutive days, unless it receives an elementary school waiver.
When asked whether school teachers should be required by districts to conduct distance learning from their classrooms, Newsom said decisions about how to deliver remote instruction should be made collaboratively between district leaders and labor unions. “I don’t believe anyone should be forced to put their life and health at risk,” he said. “If people feel their lives and health is being put at risk, it is incumbent on us to call that out.”