Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Newsom Offers Plans to Reopen Schools for In-Person Teaching
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 4 years ago on
December 30, 2020

Share

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday encouraged schools to resume in-person education next year, starting with the youngest students, and promised $2 billion in state aid to promote coronavirus testing, increased ventilation of classrooms and personal protective equipment.

The recommendation was driven by increasing evidence that there are lower risks and increased benefits from in-person instruction particularly for the youngest students, he said. It comes amid increased pressure on schools to reopen campuses based on those rationales.

“As a father of four, I know firsthand what parents, educators and pediatricians continue to say: in-person is the best setting to meet not only the learning needs, but the mental health and social-emotional needs of our kids,” Newsom said in a statement.

The proposal comes as California remains consumed by a growing pandemic crisis.

The governor announced 432 additional deaths, a record for a single day’s reporting but likely including lagging death reports from the holiday. Newsom did not immediately clarify. California has had more than 24,500 deaths during the pandemic.

Hospitals, particularly in Southern California, are increasingly stretched by soaring cases that are expected to grow in coming weeks. But hope is on the horizon as vaccines begin rolling out, with educators among those recommended for shots after the initial round goes to health care workers and those in congregate care facilities.

Newsom called for a phased approach focusing first on those in transitional kindergarten through second grade, as well as children with disabilities, those who have limited access to technology at home and those who he said “have struggled more than most with distance learning.”

Those Who Have Health Vulnerabilities That Make It Risky to Return to the Classroom

Other grades would be phased in during the spring, but remote learning would continued to be allowed if parents and students wish, and for those who have health vulnerabilities that make it risky to return to the classroom.

Aside from the $2 billion in assistance that Newsom said he will include in his proposed budget next month, he said his administration will push for safety measures.

Those include frequent testing for all students and staff, up to weekly testing in areas with high rates of virus transmission. All students and staffs should have masks, there should be increased contact tracing for those who test positive for the virus, and he backed making school staff a priority for vaccinations.

Dr. Naomi Bardach, a University of California, San Francisco, pediatrician and expert on school safety, will lead what Newsom is calling a Safe Schools for All Team composed of state health, education and occupational safety representatives. He said the team will help schools with their safety plans and provide support materials for educators.

The state will also have a website where parents and students can see their school’s reopening status, state funding, and any school outbreaks. It will also have a way for educators and parents to report any problems or concerns, which he said will allow the state to impose what his office called “escalating levels of intervention beginning with technical assistance and ending with legal enforcement.”

California State PTA President Celia Jaffe, in a statement provided by Newsom’s office, said the plan “is rooted in science, health and safety — all key tenets to any conversation about returning to in-person instruction.”

His office also had other statements of support from state lawmakers, educators and health experts.

The Hospital Rates Appeared to Be Stabilizing in General

The move comes even as the state’s most densely populated area continues to set new death and hospitalization records and will remain under strict stay-home orders for the foreseeable future as another hospital-filling coronavirus surge looms in mere weeks.

California’s top health official, Dr. Mark Ghaly, announced Tuesday an extension of the Dec. 6 lockdown restrictions for LA County and 22 others in Southern California and the agricultural San Joaquin Valley. The regions have about 60% of the state’s population of 40 million and also have seen COVID-19 surges since the Thanksgiving holiday that have left hospitals struggling to find beds for emergency room and intensive care unit patients.

Some hospitals have set up tents to hold ER patients and one converted a disused cafeteria to handle patients.

State officials notified hospitals late Monday they should prepare for the possibility that they will have to resort to “crisis care” guidelines established earlier in the pandemic, which allow for rationing treatment when staff, medicine and supplies are running short.

Ghaly and other health officials have said people ignoring social distancing to gather with friends and relatives over Thanksgiving led to a “surge on top of a surge” that has resulted in the medical crisis.

The hospital rates appeared to be stabilizing in general statewide but they remained explosively high in the south, and Ghaly urged people to stay home on New Year’s to avoid an even worse surge in January and early February.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Saturday’s Spring Fest to Showcase Free, Low-Cost Activities for Fresno Kids

DON'T MISS

LA County Reaches $4 Billion Agreement to Settle Sexual Abuse Claims at Juvenile Facilities

DON'T MISS

Fresno Man Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison for Deadly Marijuana DUI Crash

DON'T MISS

Judge Says US Must Return Maryland Man Who Was Mistakenly Deported to El Salvador Prison

DON'T MISS

These Fresno First-Graders Are Topping Their Peers in Reading

DON'T MISS

Fresno Burial Ceremony to Honor Five Abandoned Babies Set for Saturday

DON'T MISS

Visalia Man Arrested for Soliciting Sex From Minor in Kingsburg

DON'T MISS

Camalah Saleh Cruises to Win in Stormy Fresno State Student Elections

DON'T MISS

Trump Goes Golfing While Stock Market Chunks

DON'T MISS

Brandon Vang Wins Fresno City Council Special Election Outright

UP NEXT

Staged Crashes and Insurance Fraud: Is Your California Commute a Target?

UP NEXT

Fight Over Phonics: Will CA Require the ‘Science of Reading’ in K-12 Schools?

UP NEXT

The NBA’s Playoff Chase Enters Its Final Days. Here’s a Look at What’s Happening

UP NEXT

USC’s JuJu Watkins Named AP Player of the Year After Historic Sophomore Season

UP NEXT

Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman Lands on Injured List Following Fall in His Shower at Home

UP NEXT

How Trump’s Latest Tariffs Could Affect Your Wallet

UP NEXT

Curry Scores 37 Points and Warriors Beat Lakers in a Potential First-Round Playoff Preview

UP NEXT

LA Fires Death Toll Rises to 30 After Remains Are Found

UP NEXT

Rural California, Reliant on the Trump Administration for Jobs, Braces for Cuts

UP NEXT

Measles Spreads to Central Texas; 5 States Have Active Outbreaks

Judge Says US Must Return Maryland Man Who Was Mistakenly Deported to El Salvador Prison

59 minutes ago

These Fresno First-Graders Are Topping Their Peers in Reading

2 hours ago

Fresno Burial Ceremony to Honor Five Abandoned Babies Set for Saturday

2 hours ago

Visalia Man Arrested for Soliciting Sex From Minor in Kingsburg

3 hours ago

Camalah Saleh Cruises to Win in Stormy Fresno State Student Elections

4 hours ago

Trump Goes Golfing While Stock Market Chunks

4 hours ago

Brandon Vang Wins Fresno City Council Special Election Outright

4 hours ago

Trump Says He’s Giving TikTok Another 75 Days to Find a US Buyer

5 hours ago

Tulare County Man Arrested After Firing at Deputies During Eviction Attempt

6 hours ago

If ex-Bitwise CEOs Behave in Prison, How Much Less Time Will They Serve?

6 hours ago

Saturday’s Spring Fest to Showcase Free, Low-Cost Activities for Fresno Kids

Fresno families looking for engaging activities for their children will have a golden opportunity at Spring Fest, hosted by city councilmemb...

29 minutes ago

29 minutes ago

Saturday’s Spring Fest to Showcase Free, Low-Cost Activities for Fresno Kids

55 minutes ago

LA County Reaches $4 Billion Agreement to Settle Sexual Abuse Claims at Juvenile Facilities

57 minutes ago

Fresno Man Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison for Deadly Marijuana DUI Crash

59 minutes ago

Judge Says US Must Return Maryland Man Who Was Mistakenly Deported to El Salvador Prison

2 hours ago

These Fresno First-Graders Are Topping Their Peers in Reading

A public burial ceremony will be held Saturday, April 5, 2025, in Fresno to honor five abandoned infants, organized by Garden of Innocence – Fresno County. (Garden of Innocence)
2 hours ago

Fresno Burial Ceremony to Honor Five Abandoned Babies Set for Saturday

Uriel Alcala Rios, 25, was arrested for soliciting sex from a 14-year-old girl on Thursday, March 27, 2025. (Kingsburg PD)
3 hours ago

Visalia Man Arrested for Soliciting Sex From Minor in Kingsburg

4 hours ago

Camalah Saleh Cruises to Win in Stormy Fresno State Student Elections

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend