No coronavirus vaccine. Summer vacation canceled. Do California parents want school in July?

After weeks of having kids isolated at home, many parents may be counting the days until California schools reopen.

But Gov. Gavin Newsom’s statement last week that schools could be back in session as early as July is worrying some parents. That early start would deprive young students of much-needed summer vacations. And what if, as expected, there is no vaccine by July to defend students and teachers from the coronavirus?

Brandi Campbell-Tudor’s 10-year-old daughter has asthma and underlying health conditions. She said returning to school while the virus is still spreading would be too dangerous. While her school, Rio Valley Charter in Elk Grove, is preparing for the chance that distance learning will continue into the fall, Campbell-Tudor is taking no chances.

If school starts in the fall, and a vaccine is not ready, she plans to homeschool her children.

“It would not make sense to send my oldest to school to be exposed and bring it back into the house for my other daughter,” Campbell-Tudor said.

It’s unclear when life will return to normal in the coming months, but officials know that schools won’t look the same in the fall regardless of the improvements California may see in the rate of infections.

Newsom said schools schedules could be staggered in the fall, and schools could make changes to recess and physical education to help prevent new surges of the virus.

And last week, Sacramento Schools Chief David Gordon said distance learning may need to be a continued option for families like Campbell-Tudor’s who worry that close contact in schools can contribute to a new surge of coronavirus cases.

“There are some parents who are not comfortable regardless of how well thought out some of the configuration is,” he said.

Teachers are concerned too.

Shannan Brown, executive director of the San Juan Teachers Association, said the organization’s main concern going into the new school year is safety.

“We don’t know what we are going back into,” Brown said. “Teachers and educators are in the pandemic too, and they have their own issues to deal with. We need to know how we can help them do their jobs in a way that’s realistic.”

The San Juan Unified teachers union questioned whether enough teachers will have access to personal protective equipment, how often bathrooms and cafeterias will be cleaned and how teachers can adhere to social distancing guidelines when their work requires close contact with students. The union estimates about one third of their members are at high risk of catching the virus.

“Children tend to be asymptomatic, how will we keep students and staff safe when we don’t know who has COVID-19?” Brown asked.

The Sacramento City Teachers Association estimates that nearly one fourth of its members are either over the age of 60 or have a serious health condition.

“Before schools can open in September, we have to be sure they are safe: safe for students, safe for educators, safe for parents,” read a statement from the union.

Early on in the pandemic, a Sacramento City Unified substitute teacher was one of the first Sacramento County residents to die from complications due to the virus.

Since then, much has changed. Schools across the region closed for the remainder of the school year and school officials have still not laid out definitive plans for the fall.

Parents waiting for a vaccine may be waiting for more than a year.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director, said one could be created and approved in a year to 18 months — an aggressive timeline. Others suggest a longer time frame.

Sacramento parent Jeannette Angus said she plans to send her children to school in the fall with or without a vaccine or school modifications. She has one child headed to fifth grade, and a 4-year-old entering preschool.

Angus said that even with a vaccine available in the future, not all families will choose to get it. Angus said she would not give her children the new vaccine, and would home school her children if the vaccine became mandatory.

“My kids get required vaccinations,” she said. “If this one becomes required, it’s still too early to tell if it’s safe.”

This story was originally published May 6, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "No coronavirus vaccine. Summer vacation canceled. Do California parents want school in July?."