Local schools can bring students back to campus, SLO County says. Here’s how
Schools in San Luis Obispo County can reopen for in-person classes under California’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy, according to the county Public Health Department.
The move, effective immediately, comes after San Luis Obispo County remained in the state’s COVID-19 red category for two weeks. That means it’s considered to have substantial, but not widespread, coronavirus cases.
“Because we have kept our COVID-19 transmission relatively stable, we have been consistently in the red tier for two weeks now,” San Luis Obispo County Public Health Officer Dr. Penny Borenstein said in a news release Tuesday.
“Local schools are not required to reopen for in-person instruction, but they may choose to reopen if they implement the state’s COVID-19 guidance for schools and school-based programs,” Borenstein said in the release.
Previously, schools instructing kids in kindergarten through 12th grade had to apply for a waiver from the county Public Health Department to teach in-person classes. These waivers were only granted for elementary schools, and only after those schools had put together extensive reopening plans that complied with health and safety measures to slow the spread of COVID-19.
In San Luis Obispo County, a total of 13 private schools applied for and were granted waivers for in-person instruction.
Two public school districts, Paso Robles Joint Unified and Pleasant Valley Joint Union, have also applied for waivers, but the county had not accepted those as of Tuesday.
Prior to bringing students back to campus, local schools must submit plans for modified in-person instruction to Borenstein for review and consultation, the news release says, and those schools must maintain the state’s guidelines when they reopen.
According to the statewide School Reopening Framework, schools that open for in-person classes at this time are not required to close should the county move back to the purple tier, the first and most-restrictive tier.
But the San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department said local schools should consider increasing coronavirus screening and testing of all staff.
The county Public Health Department said that it continues to work closely with the San Luis Obispo County Office of Education and local districts for opening schools safely.
Some local districts have decided to stay closed through the end of the calendar year, according to the county Office of Education, but some may reopen with approved plans by county public health officials.
Which SLO County schools will remain closed, and which will open?
San Luis Coastal Unified School District voted earlier in 2020 to remain closed to in-person instruction until January 2021, and will do so regardless of the county’s tier change.
“This has really been the toughest six months of my life,” district Superintendent Eric Prater said. “But we have to take our time to ensure that we can do it right, and do it safely.”
Lucia Mar Unified School District, the largest school district in the county, initially voted to remain in distance learning until January 2021, but planned to discuss reopening plans at Tuesday’s board meeting.
Pleasant Valley Joint Union and Paso Robles Joint Unified school districts have applied for elementary school waivers, and Atascadero Unified School District planned to ask approval from its board of trustees to apply for the waiver at Tuesday’s meeting.
If the Atascadero Unified board approves the waiver, the district will send its application to the county Public Health Department on Wednesday.
Templeton Unified and San Miguel Joint Union school districts planned to discuss their reopening plans at board meetings this week.
All school districts in San Luis Obispo County are currently bringing back small cohorts of students for in-person instruction. These are students with special needs, as well as those participating in school sports or extracurricular activities.
Why don’t schools reopen immediately?
Reopening a school district to in-person instruction during the coronavirus pandemic is easier said than done.
First, districts must draft a comprehensive reopening plan that accounts for all county, state and federal guidelines for slowing the spread of COVID-19. Then, the districts must consult with parents, students, labor unions and the community on these plans.
Districts must then have reopening plans approved by their respective school boards. And, finally, the county Public Health Department must approve the plans after that.
“I wish I could just snap my fingers and bring our students back next week,” Prater said. “But I can’t. It’s complicated.”
For more information about the county Office of Education or local schools, visit slocoe.org/covid-19-information-resources.
For updates on COVID-19 in SLO County, visit ReadySLO.org or call the recorded Public Health Information Line at 805-788-2903.
A staffed phone assistance center at 805-543-2444 is also available 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday to assist with COVID-19 questions.
This story was originally published October 6, 2020 at 12:27 PM.
