San Luis Coastal schools cancel in-person classes for the rest of the year
San Luis Obispo schools have canceled in-person classes for the rest of the year due to the coronavirus outbreak, district officials confirmed on Wednesday.
The San Luis Coastal Unified School District Board of Trustees on Tuesday night voted unanimously to close campuses through June 4, the last day of the school year, Superintendent Eric Prater said in an email to The Tribune.
San Luis Coastal is the first San Luis Obispo County school district to announce the cancellation of in-person classes for the remainder of the year.
Most other local districts have instead opted to close campuses through April or leave their closures open-ended.
Lucia Mar Unified School District plans to remain closed through May 4. Paso Robles Joint Unified School District is closed indefinitely, and officials have not set a date by which they plan to open campuses.
Why is San Luis Coastal closing?
Tony Thurmond, state superintendent of instruction, on March 31 sent a letter to all county superintendents saying students likely wouldn’t be able to return to campuses before the end of the year.
Prater recommended the extended closure based on specific criteria — including Thurmond’s statements — that he laid out in a memo to the San Luis Coastal board of trustees.
His reasoning includes the fact that the county still does not have “a clear picture about testing, treatments, or vaccines” that would allow districts to make plans to reopen schools.
“While facts and circumstances continue to change, we should not reopen school facilities until state and local health authorities tell us how it is safe and appropriate to do so,” Prater wrote.
County residents continue to test positive for COVID-19, the illness caused by the new coronavirus, and shelter-at-home and social distancing orders “(create) unrealistic operational requirements for typical school environments,” Prater wrote.
In addition to citing Thurmond’s recommendation, Prater pointed out Gov. Gavin Newsom’s transition plan to reopen California’s economy does not include resuming in-person classroom instruction in the state’s public schools.
Plans for distance learning and graduation
San Luis Coastal has implemented a distance-learning program, and all students are currently learning online, he said in an email to The Tribune.
Prater said the district has created a committee of students, parents and staff to determine plans for graduation.
“We will develop a virtual summer learning program K-12 for all students, too,” he wrote. “Additionally, we are exploring opportunities for in-person summer camps for our most vulnerable student populations that adhere to social distancing expectations. Meals will be provided ongoing throughout the summer too.”
This story was originally published April 15, 2020 at 6:21 PM.
