Post by Admin on Jul 17, 2020 19:32:41 GMT
California Governor Gavin Newsom will release new guidelines for opening schools as coronavirus cases continue to mount in the most populous U.S. state, his office said Thursday.
The guidelines, to be released on Friday, come amid an intense debate across the United States about whether it would be safe to send children and teachers back into the classroom amid an ongoing pandemic.
The discussion has taken on a political tinge, as Republican President Donald Trump urges a return to regular school schedules, while many Democrats urge a more cautious approach, such as a continuation of virtual lessons.
In California, numerous school districts, including Los Angeles Unified, the state's largest, have already said they would begin the school year with remote learning.
Several school districts in more conservative agricultural areas, however, plan to offer in-person learning for students.
Newsom has not yet indicated what the new guidelines will comprise, or whether he plans to order all schools districts to begin the fall term with distance learning.
However, California's powerful teachers unions strongly oppose in-person instruction without safety measures that could be difficult and expensive to implement. School administrators in Los Angeles, San Diego and Sacramento moved to cancel in-person instruction days after the unions expressed their concerns.
Among the possible actions are a statewide ban on reopening or county-by-county rules based on the number of coronavirus cases. A statewide rule could upend the plans of some more rural and conservative counties to hold classes as usual when school starts next month.
The guidelines, to be released on Friday, come amid an intense debate across the United States about whether it would be safe to send children and teachers back into the classroom amid an ongoing pandemic.
The discussion has taken on a political tinge, as Republican President Donald Trump urges a return to regular school schedules, while many Democrats urge a more cautious approach, such as a continuation of virtual lessons.
In California, numerous school districts, including Los Angeles Unified, the state's largest, have already said they would begin the school year with remote learning.
Several school districts in more conservative agricultural areas, however, plan to offer in-person learning for students.
Newsom has not yet indicated what the new guidelines will comprise, or whether he plans to order all schools districts to begin the fall term with distance learning.
However, California's powerful teachers unions strongly oppose in-person instruction without safety measures that could be difficult and expensive to implement. School administrators in Los Angeles, San Diego and Sacramento moved to cancel in-person instruction days after the unions expressed their concerns.
Among the possible actions are a statewide ban on reopening or county-by-county rules based on the number of coronavirus cases. A statewide rule could upend the plans of some more rural and conservative counties to hold classes as usual when school starts next month.