L.A. and San Diego announce 'online only' return to class this fall because government has failed

Daily Kos Staff

Monday July 13, 2020 · 3:55 PM PDT

2020/07/13 · 15:55

Children in a pre-school class wear masks and sit at desks spaced apart as per coronavirus guidelines during summer school sessions in Monterey Park, California on July 9, 2020. - California Governor Gavin Newsom says the reopening of California schools for the coming school year will be based on safety and not pressure from President Donald Trump as California sets records for one-day increases in COVID-19 cases. (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP) (Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)

Los Angeles Unified School District and San Diego Unified School District released a joint statement on the upcoming school year Monday afternoon. Both districts, which educate hundreds of thousands of students in California, will be returning for virtual classes beginning in August. Under pressure from an answerless federal government and billionaire education secretary, California boards of education are trying their best to answer the need to “reopen” along with the almost impossible task of keeping teachers, students, and Californians safe.

And while LAUSD and SDUSD say they will resume the school year schedule uninterrupted (for now), they acknowledge that this statement comes with a slew of caveats. For one, the school year will begin off-campus—and stay off-campus for an indefinite time. “One fact is clear: those countries that have managed to safely reopen schools have done so with declining infection rates and on-demand testing available. California has neither,” the school districts’ statement said.

San Diego promises to “provide a public assessment on Aug. 10 of how soon (after the first week of school) a physical return to class would be possible.” Los Angeles Unified promises a similar update in the first week of August. But as this is an evolving situation, your guess is as good as theirs at this point. What this will mean for the many families who do not have childcare or do not have access to decent broadband internet speeds or devices (or the other myriad inequalities inherent in virtual learning) remains to be seen.

The joint statement from the schools included very pointed comment on the need for the federal government to get off their asses and provide meaningful support and direction, as opposed to the current ‘let them eat poison cake’ position of the more conservative officials in our nation, saying, “The federal government must provide schools with the resources we need to reopen in a responsible manner.” LAUSD Superintendent Austin Beutner posted some of the expectations and resources that they will need to execute this fall school year successfully.

Update on July 13th pic.twitter.com/hKZYcr2Qeu
— Austin Beutner (@AustinLASchools) July 13, 2020

The announcement comes on the same day that California Gov. Gavin Newsom reinstated closures of indoor facilities such as churches, gyms, salons, and shopping malls due to soaring new case counts across the Golden State. Meanwhile, other California public school districts are announcing similarly vague plans for the upcoming school year. Oakland Unified School District has offered up a similarly amorphous virtual start to the school year, with the hopes of some kind of part-time, in-class instruction to follow, if possible.

L.A. and San Diego announce 'online only' return to class this fall because government has failed

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