LA Unified issues mandate for quarantined students

Los Angeles Unified has issued a new requirement for students in quarantine: classroom teachers will either live-stream lessons via Zoom from the classroom or from home if they too must be quarantined. Classrooms with a quarantined teacher will be assigned an in-person substitute teacher for any students who do not have to quarantine. The mandate was shared with all district principals on Sunday and directs administrators to implement it by Sept. 8.

In the two weeks since the state’s largest school district began the fall semester, thousands of students have either tested positive for the coronavirus or come into close contact with someone who has contracted it. Until now, teachers have lacked clarity on how to continue instructing students who must stay home for several days.

A recently-passed state law requires that students not attending in-person classes be directed toward independent study, but school districts have struggled to implement short-term independent study programs for students in quarantine. The new L.A. Unified mandate aims to provide clarity, but it has been met with pushback by the teachers’ union who has not yet voted on it.