Parents and students throughout Los Angeles are placing pressure on schools to reopen and bring in-person learning back.
On Monday in Los Angeles, California, a demonstration was held. It attracted over 200 parents and students from over 20 different schools who voiced that they recognize that there are dangers involved with sending their children back to school during the coronavirus pandemic. Still, research and better conditions are on their side. That's why they are urging schools to reopen aside from "virtual learning has been nothing but frustrating and sad."
This drive is opposed by the Unified Teachers Los Angeles Union. Supt. Los Angeles Schools. Austin Beutner, since the coronavirus infection rate remains too high in areas served by the district, like South Los Angeles, supports school staff vaccines, which the union is seeking.
Beutner said that the average county coronavirus rate that permits elementary schools to reopen is misleading. He expressed, "The region spans more than 4,000 square miles and communities with vastly different family circumstances where COVID has had vastly different impacts."
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Nevertheless, parents said that they want their children to return to school, and the officials have been telling them for a year now that they are going to open schools when it is safe. At the protest, they said they paid attention when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that it was possible to safely reopen K-12 schools, even with substantial coronavirus spread, and without a school workers vaccine. Further, L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer reported that the county had surpassed the elementary campus reopening threshold.
Further, Gov. Gavin Newsom encourages schools in their state to reopen in early spring for in-person teaching, but they must meet crucial thresholds set by the state for health metrics. To promote a return to face-to-face training, the governor is seeking $2 billion in incentive funding.
Districts with high enrollments of low-income and vulnerable students will be given priority. The money will encourage protective initiatives, including prolonged testing and tracing of interactions. In schools that reopen for in-person teaching, distance learning will remain an option for parents and students.
Still, L.A. Unified and the union leaders are flying a caution flag: They want further reductions in infection rates and vaccines for school staff.
Other than Los Angeles, officials respond to parents from other states' plea for schools to reopen.
In Delaware, a general stay-home order has been lifted by Gov. John Carney. Schools must decide on the learning format based on three measures: the number of new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 individuals, the daily average hospitalizations, and the percentage of positive COVID-19 examinations.
Schools must use remote-only instruction when two or more of these measures indicate a "significant" group spread. Very few counties now show fewer than 100 per 100,000 (considered "significant") infection rates, and more than 15 have two or more times the spread of the population.
In the state of New Mexico, all elementary and secondary schools are allowed to open under a hybrid model as of early February, as long as schools meet specific surveillance monitoring standards and other safety precautions. Leaders of local districts and charter schools can opt to keep schools closed to in-person learning.
In the District of Columbia, in-person education has been restored for up to 15,000 students; but approximately 80 percent will continue with distance learning.
