San Diego County schools will be allowed to reopen for in-person instruction starting September 1, 2020. The decision was announced on Tuesday when county health officials briefed San Diego's K-12 public and private school administrators.
Dr. Wooten also said that schools can remain open, even if San Diego finds itself back on the state's COVID-19 monitoring list. However, “If case rates become astronomically high again, that’s a game changer,” Wooten said.
While schools are allowed to reopen, they are not currently required to do so. Schools are able to decide independently if they are capable of conducting in-person learning, and are still allowed to continue distance learning.
From the County of San Diego's statement:
Once the state public health requirements are met, each of the 42 districts and more than 300 charter and private schools is responsible for developing and implementing their own reopening plan. Some schools, like those that have applied for waivers to reopen early, may be ready for in-person learning. Other schools have plans for a hybrid model or only distance learning for the semester. Each is different, but we know that reopening campuses will require a lot of planning, preparation, and expenses to keep students, families, and staff members safe.
SDCOE is here to support districts and schools in following state and local guidelines. It does not order school closures or reopening, and it does not dictate or mandate any kind of safety measures or educational programming.”
To reopen, schools must have an approved safe reopening plan that detail the measures they have in place to comply with the state’s safe reopening criteria. The county’s school districts, public charter schools, private and faith-based schools have been working on those plans for months and many have them in place.
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