Following months of remote learning challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the state is planning to roll out in-person learning for some students in the next few months.
Reopening schools will relieve parents and students, but making schools safe will require an infusion of resources, Kevin Klowden, executive director of the Milken Institute’s California Center, told the Northern California Record.
“In an ideal world, what it means is the essential workers are going to be able to have more flexibility in going back to work,” Klowden said. “There’s a lot of pressure not just in California but around the country on the mental load that’s been happening for kids and parents and others when it comes to kids schooled remotely for extended periods.”
Under the Safe Schools for All Plan unveiled by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Dec. 30, in-person instruction would begin in early spring.
“It’s especially important for our youngest kids, those with disabilities, those with limited access to technology at home and those who have struggled more than most with distance learning,” Newsom said in a news release. Other grades would return in later phases.
In the state budget released last week, the $90 billion in school funding includes $2 billion to facilitate safety measures for in-person learning.
Such protocols are key – not only in terms of keeping teachers and students safe – research shows young people are more susceptible to the new COVID strain that recently appeared in Great Britain, Bloomberg reported. At least six people have been infected in California, KCRA reported.
Rollout logistics also will be complicated by the post-holiday escalation in COVID-19 cases.
“This is coming out at the peak of the surge in California, especially Southern California,” Klowden said. “And up until this point there have not been a lot of resources devoted in the U.S. to making schools safe.”
Klowden noted robust contact tracing efforts will be needed to ensure new surges don’t result after reopening.
Some of the state’s largest school districts and teachers’ unions have expressed concerns with the plan.
Last month Assemblyman Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, introduced AB 10, and Assemblyman Kevin Kiley, R-Rocklin, introduced AB 76, calling for a safe return to in-person instruction.
“They need to tackle this from a resource standpoint,” Klowden said. “The governor is saying sometime early this spring – there’s no set date – and they have to make sure there’s enough time to implement effective protocols for social distancing and standard ventilation equipment.”