Fresno Unified among large districts slamming Gavin Newsom’s school reopening plan

Fresno Unified and six other of the state’s largest school districts say Gov. Gavin Newsom’s new plan to reopen schools will fail communities with high poverty and most negatively affect people of color, according to a letter sent by the superintendents to the Capitol on Wednesday.

Newsom unveiled the “Safe Schools for All” plan on Dec. 30, which includes a $450 per student incentive. More funding will go to districts serving students from low-income families, English learners, and foster youth.

The plan includes bringing back transitional kindergarten through second graders in February and following with more elementary school grades through the spring.

The seven school districts — Fresno, Sacramento, Long Beach, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, and San Diego — are pushing for more steps and information to be added to Newsom’s plan.

“... we cannot ignore that the plan fails to address the needs of the urban school districts that serve nearly a quarter of California students, almost all of whom live below the poverty level,” the letter reads. “The plan does not address the disproportionate impact the virus is having on low-income communities of color.”

The superintendents worry that schools serving more affluent areas will open much sooner and more safely than ones serving poorer communities, creating a disparity that the plan still does not address.

They are asking for several steps to be added:

• An immediate, all-hands-on-deck, public health effort to reduce the spread of the virus in low-income communities.
• A clear state standard for COVID-related health issues in schools, with a requirement for in-classroom instruction to begin when the standard is met.
• Public health funds, not K-12 educational funds from Prop. 98, should be used for COVID testing and vaccinations.
• School-based health services should be integrated with COVID testing and vaccination plans.
• Learning-loss recovery plans, including funding for summer school, need to be established now.
• Reopening plans need to include specific funding for special education students.
• A timetable and plan for vaccinations of school staff should be made public by February 1.
• The state should begin to publish detailed information on school and district status in meeting COVID health standards, providing in-person instruction and school-based virus occurrences by February 1.

California school reopening plan changes

School leaders said the guidance is ever-changing and raises the COVID-19 case threshold for opening to 28 cases per 100,000 people. It was previously recommended that schools not open until case counts were below 7 per 100,000 people.

State metrics put Fresno County at 74.1 cases per 100,000 as of Wednesday.

Newsom said in his announcement that science shows virus transmission at schools is uncommon, and the disease is less severe in children.

December COVID-19 tests taken in schools showed children in Los Angeles with no known symptoms or exposure to the virus were more likely to test positive if they were from a low-income community — one in three, versus one in 25 children in more affluent areas, according to school leaders.

Black and Latino populations are more likely to be hospitalized for COVID-19 than white people and are more likely to be essential workers who cannot work from home.

“There is little likelihood the low-income communities we serve will meet the proposed ‘Safe Schools for All’ deadline of February 1 and many experts say even March 1 is unlikely, given current health conditions,” school leaders wrote. “Sadly, statewide COVID numbers appear to be moving in the wrong direction in nearly every meaningful category – infections, hospitalizations and deaths.”

The seven superintendents said the state must take action before poorer communities are left behind.

“These may include additional testing and health measures in communities which are most impacted, further restrictions on businesses like shopping malls, job or income support for low-income families, and priority vaccinations for essential workers,” they wrote.

Districts said their current reopening plans, which have already gone through reviews with labor unions, will be impacted by the new plan.

“This reinforces the need for coordination on systemic health protocols with labor leaders at the state level,” the letter read.

Districts also want more funding for tutoring, summer in-person academic and enrichment classes, and behavioral and mental health supports for students who have fallen behind. The plan also “fails to acknowledge” that students with learning differences and disabilities are served in greater proportions by large, urban school districts, leaders said. They are pushing for more funding for these groups too.

“Teachers will need additional professional development that is focused on intervention and credit recovery,” the letter reads. “This need for additional instructional time and support in schools will be ongoing, and the planning and funding for it needs to begin immediately.”

Fresno Unified Superintendent Bob Nelson said school leaders were taken by surprise by the announcement on Dec. 30, according to a Facebook post. On Wednesday, he was critical of the plan, which did not make clear when teachers and other staff members would get vaccinated.

“I believe establishing a statewide standard of what constitutes a ‘safe’ return to schools is better than 1,037 unique districts attempting to interpret and collectively bargain that standard, and subsequently confusing the public with cross-comparatives,” he wrote.

“Set the standards, and then let local districts apply them. And if you are treating us as essential workers, put us on the vaccination schedule, today.”

This story was originally published January 6, 2021 at 10:07 AM.