LA middle and high schools aim to reopen for in-person classes in late April

Los Angeles Unified has proposed to reopen middle and high school campuses by the end of April, according to a Monday morning update from Superintendent Austin Beutner. Preschools and elementary schools have a tentative reopening in mid-April.

Negotiations with the district’s teachers’ union, United Teachers of Los Angeles, are ongoing and an agreement is expected to be announced this week. The district, however, will “continue to move forward on plans to reopen schools as there is a great deal to do to get ready,” Beutner said.

Vaccinations for school staff have remained a foundational step in the district’s reopening plan.

“While other cities in California, like Long Beach, got a head start when local health authorities there started with vaccinations for school staff back in January, we’re working as hard as we can to make up for lost time since vaccinations were first made available for Los Angeles Unified staff just a week ago,” Beutner said.

LA Unified school staff had access to vaccines last week at three locations, schools turned into vaccination sites, in addition to Hollywood Park. Another three schools will open today as vaccinations sites to help vaccinate the district’s 86,000 employees.

So far, more than 35,000 Los Angeles Unified staff have been vaccinated with their first dose, made an appointment for their first dose, or indicated they will not be receiving the vaccine at this time. About 10% of employees have indicated they will not be signing up for the vaccine at this time, Beutner said.