Evianna Van Santvoord, who is in kindergarten, does her homework on March 18, 2020 in San Anselmo, California. Ezra Shaw / Getty Images
SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom announced a $ 2 billion push on Wednesday to reopen California elementary schools for younger students in February, offering incentives and tests for school districts that resume teaching in the classroom.
Most of California’s 6 million public school students have been learning remotely since the pandemic forced the general closure in March. Although some districts were opened this fall, when infection rates were lower, most kept campuses closed and online, especially those in large metropolitan areas.
Newsom’s plan is based on carrots, rather than sticks, in an attempt to reopen primary schools across California. The centerpiece is a $ 2 billion mid-year budget request that would channel money into bringing children back to classrooms, with an emphasis on the youngest children who are in transitional kindergarten through second grade. Priority will be given to districts with a large number of low-income students, young adopters or English students – groups whose disadvantages were exacerbated during distance learning.
“As a father of very young children, face-to-face education is simply no substitute for that,” said Newsom, a father of four. “It is much more difficult for a 4 year old to focus on a device than a 14 year old.”
The structure also seeks to increase testing in schools and provide educators with more protective equipment, including the free distribution of millions of surgical masks. Newsom’s plan would prioritize vaccinating school staff during the spring; teachers and childcare providers are expected to be next in the vaccine line, following the current round dedicated to health professionals and those in nursing homes.
The state will also launch a public database for tracking school broadcasts, a transparency effort that follows growing complaints that the state has provided little information about school openings or infection rates among students.
The timing is far from perfect. California is in the midst of a record level of infections and hospitalizations, with facilities in Southern California running out of bed space and talking about rationing care. Newsom said on Wednesday that his plan would go into action when counties cut their new daily cases to less than 28 per 100,000 residents. While it is still well below the state’s current average of 93 new daily cases per 100,000, it is four times the rate that California previously allowed schools to reopen without layoffs.
But Newsom’s launch comes at a time when families express frustration with distance learning and critics criticize him for sending his own children back to private school in November, without a cohesive plan to reopen public schools. That frustration is one of many that Newsom must face as conservative Republicans continue to collect signatures for a recall campaign, which has just received a boost with more than $ 600,000 in contributions this week.
Although Newsom and lawmakers were under immense pressure to reopen schools earlier, it put them in direct opposition to the influential teacher unions that argue that classrooms remain unsafe for teachers. The unions have already opposed the legislation to force faster reopenings, and the success of the Newsom plan may depend on the approval and cooperation of local teachers.
At the same time, black families suffered disproportionately from the pandemic and expressed concern about sending their children back. In New York City, white families are more eager to return to campuses, creating different concerns about inequality.
Notably, Newsom’s announcement included quotes from two legislative education presidents, the California State PTA, California Medical Association and California Schools Employees Association – but not the state’s teacher unions.
Large districts have struggled to reach agreements with their employee unions on how to reopen safely. Some that were close to reopening in the fall shelved the plans when infection rates reached record levels and almost the entire state entered into an order to stay home.
Several influential Democratic lawmakers – including those with longstanding ties to teachers’ unions – introduced legislation this month that would force school districts to reopen when infection rates dropped enough to qualify their counties for the state’s red level. The California Teachers ‘Association and the California Teachers’ Federation quickly mobilized members and made it clear that they opposed any attempt by the state to overturn local decision-making by the districts and their employee unions.
One of these legislators, Education Assembly President Patrick O’Donnell (D-Long Beach), said Newsom’s new plan is a reflection of conversations O’Donnell and other lawmakers had with the governor about how to safely reopen schools , but that “needs more work. “The Assembly’s bill 10, which would force all schools except those at the state’s purple level, to reopen in March,” is still alive and well, “said O’Donnell.
“I think this is a reflection of those conversations, but the conversations are not over yet,” said O’Donnell on Wednesday.
California Federation of Teachers President Jeff Freitas said the union’s support for personal education depends on vaccination schedules. Both Newsom and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond reiterated at a news conference on Wednesday that teachers will be prioritized for the distribution of vaccines, after health professionals.
“We thank the governor for working with us and for offering an incentive to reopen instead of requiring face-to-face education,” said Freitas. “Stakeholder input is necessary and I think the input is made with a capital ‘I’, emphasizing that it is more than just listening. There must be some kind of approval by all interested parties. “
O’Donnell said Newsom’s plans would have to be approved “quickly” by the legislature through a budget bill. Newsom is expected to release its January budget next week, which will be driven by a huge windfall that he and lawmakers can use to help fund their schools’ approach.
The plan would allow families to continue distance learning even if their schools were reopened. This can be a complication for districts, as teachers expressed concern about how they could teach students online and in person at the same time. But schools across the country have provided models of how this could work.
Newsom’s proposal requires all students to wear masks, a change from previous rules that required this only for third grade and above.
The governor’s reopening announcement was not just a $ 2 billion plan, but a clear statement that the governor believes that children should go back to school. This has been a difficult and controversial position for some leaders, especially Democrats, whose supporters have been more resistant to the reopening of schools. The issue was filled with emotion, as some who believe that schools should remain closed have accused proponents of reopening playing with the lives of teachers and students.
Apparently aware of this position, Newsom followed its implementation on Wednesday with multi-page statements advocating the school’s reopening. In a “justification” document, the governor’s team stated that “the socio-emotional skills cultivated in the younger classes are fundamental to future well-being”. They also cited “lower rates of anxiety and depression” among students in classrooms, as well as a 40% drop in child welfare recommendations since March, suggesting that much more child abuse may go unnoticed.
The governor also issued a “scientific” defense, citing several studies that show that student-to-student transmission is low, even in communities with high rates of the spread of coronavirus, when the correct classroom precautions are taken. His team noted that this is especially the case among young students. And they said that the transmission happens more often outside of school.