Millions more children learned on Friday that they are unlikely to return to classrooms full time in autumn because of the coronavirus pan...
Millions more children learned on Friday that they are unlikely to return to classrooms full time in autumn because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The country's two most populous states - California and Texas - each reported roughly 10,000 new cases and some of their highest death counts since the pandemic began, while big numbers in Florida and Arizona are also helping drive the US resurgence that is forcing states to rethink the school year.
President Donald Trump and his administration have demanded that schools fully reopen right from the start, calling for new guidance from federal health officials and slamming schools that want to bring students back for only a few days a week.
With the first day of school just weeks away in California, Gov. Gavin Newsom laid out sweeping new rules Friday that all but ensure most of the state´s K-12 schools serving 6.7 million students will not reopen classrooms when the academic year starts.
The rules also mandate that all staff and students above 2nd grade who do return to campuses wear masks in school as the coronavirus pandemic surges.
Gov. Gavin Newsom laid out sweeping new rules Friday that all but ensure most of the state´s K-12 schools serving 6.7 million students will not reopen classrooms when the academic year starts
Social distancing dividers for students are seen in a classroom at St. Benedict Schoo in Montebello, California
Newsom said all schools, public and private, in counties that are on a state monitoring list for rising coronavirus infections cannot hold in-person classes and will have to meet strict criteria for reopening.
Currently, 32 of California's 58 counties are on the list, encompassing the vast majority of the state's population and its biggest cities, Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco.
'Students, teachers, staff and parents prefer in-class instruction. But only if we can do it safely,' Newsom said during a televised briefing. 'The one thing we have the power to do to get our kids back into school? Wear a mask, physically distance, wash your hands.'
The governor's strict new regulations mark a dramatic shift from his earlier position that it was up to local school districts and boards to decide when and how to reopen.
His announcement came as many of the state's 1,000 school districts are set to resume instruction in mid-August, with many still finalizing reopening plans.
This week, California reported its second-highest one-day totals in infection rates and deaths since the start of the pandemic. Nearly 7,500 people have died in California - more than 1,200 of them in the past two weeks.
Several large school districts have already said their schools will begin the new term virtually, including Los Angeles and San Diego, the state's two largest with a combined enrollment of 720,000 K-12 students.
San Francisco, Oakland, Sacramento, Long Beach, Santa Ana and San Bernardino are among the other districts opting not to immediately return to classrooms.
Newsom's guidance lays out in detail when classrooms and schools would have to close if there is an outbreak. If a student or educator test positive for the virus, a classroom would have to close and the students and teacher would quarantine for 14 days.
An entire school should revert to distance learning if it reports multiple cases, or 5 percent of students and staff test positive within a 14-day period.
Schools across California closed in March as the state ramped up virus-related restrictions. The move to distance learning was rocky for teachers, parents and students, particularly those who lacked the right technology or internet access. Newsom noted the state budget includes more than $5 billion to help students suffering from learning losses.
Schools will now be required to introduce 'robust distance learning programs,' something teachers have said they are striving for but may be easier said than done.
The rules call for regular coronavirus testing of school staff and working with county contact tracers if an outbreak occurs, Newsom said.
Superintendents will be able to submit waiver requests to re-open elementary schools, for approval by local health officers, but it was unclear how strict or lenient authorities would be when examining those requests.
Texas on Friday gave public schools permission to keep campuses closed for more than 5 million students well into the fall as the state scrambles to contain one of the largest resurgences of the coronavirus in the country.
The changes in Texas were announced hours before the state set a new daily record for virus deaths, with 174, and reported more than 10,000 confirmed new cases for a fourth consecutive day.
It also follows a backlash from teachers and parents who criticized Texas' earlier timeline that had students returning to classrooms by August or September as rushed and reckless.
Under the new guidelines, Texas schools could hold online-only instruction for up to the first eight weeks of the school year, potentially pushing a return to campus in some cities until November.
That includes Dallas and Houston, where school leaders concerned about the surge of COVID-19 cases have postponed the first day of classes until after Labor Day.
'The health & safety of students, teachers & parents is the top priority,' Republican Gov. Greg Abbott tweeted shortly after the announcement.
Texas' largest teachers organization dismissed Friday's announcement as underwhelming, saying it is based on an artificial deadline.
'Educators, students and their parents need assurance that school buildings will not be reopened until it is safe to do so. Right now, with the pandemic still raging across Texas, we don´t know when that will be,' Texas State Teachers Association President Ovidia Molina said in a statement.
The Texas Education Agency said students who are not equipped for virtual learning, particularly those whose families lack reliable internet access or a computer, will still be entitled to on-campus instruction once the school year begins.
The state's Republican attorney general, Ken Paxton, said he doesn't think private religious schools need to comply with local public health orders prohibiting in-person classes as several cities have already done.
He cited 'constitutional and statutory protections unique to religious individuals and communities at all times, even during the COVID-19 pandemic.'
Abbott said Thursday that Texas could be seeing signs that the spread was slowing after a June and July in which hospitalizations quadrupled, which has stretched hospitals and ICU units to full capacity.
Texas on Friday gave public schools permission to keep campuses closed for more than 5 million students well into the fall. Josefina Median wears a mask as she cleans a classroom at Wylie High School in Texas Tuesday
One of the hardest-hit areas remains the Texas-Mexico border, where officials are looking at converting hotels into medical units.
It has been nearly three weeks since Texas shut down bars again, and Abbott said the leveling off of Houston hospitalization rates in recent days is encouraging.
'We´re certainly not out of the woods yet, but this could be a glimmer of hope coming if people will continue wearing face masks wherever possible,' Abbott told Houston television station KRIV.
Most Chicago children would return to the classroom just two days a week and spend the other three days learning remotely under a tentative plan outlined by officials from the nation's third-largest school district.
A final decision for fall classes for the district's more than 300,000 students will not come until late August.
Meanwhile Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, a Republican, announced she will override school districts and require students to spend at least half of their schooling in classrooms, drawing criticism from the state teachers union.
In Denver, it was announced on Friday that students will being the school year learning remotely, CPR News reports.
The start of school will be pushed back to August 24 and the earliest in-person learning will begin is September 8.
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