Even amid the surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, California state leaders are planning to reopen face-to-face teaching in all California schools in the spring of 2021, while still incorporating remote learning as an option.
KRON San Francisco reports that during a news conference on Wednesday, Governor Gavin Newsom (D) said that having students attending classes would not be a highly transmissible environment for COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States. United States (CDC).
Still, he acknowledged that broad public health protocols would still be in place for schools to reopen.
“The current guidelines allow schools to function in person,” said Newsom. “Schools have an obligation to present security plans.”
To facilitate reopening, California is working to prioritize teachers and school staff as the next demographic to receive vaccines.
Additional evidence and guidelines were described on the website of the State Health Department, citing home environments as the main way in which children are exposed and contract COVID-19.
Some of the safety measures that are likely to be incorporated are wearing masks, social detachment, learning in small groups, frequent hand washing and extensive testing. Contact tracking will also be critical, and the launch of new software dubbed the School Portal for Outbreak Tracking (SPOT) aims to help state health officials and educators work together to isolate any cases.
Newsom said $ 2 billion in state funding would be allocated to support the reopening of schools.
The state’s plan focuses on taking kindergarten and elementary school children – specifically up to the second grade – back into the classroom.