State cracks open door for Sacramento-area students to return to classroom — what’s next?

Some Sacramento-area school children in kindergarten through sixth grades may be allowed to head back to school for in-person learning in the coming months under a program proposed this week by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

That possibility, however, is mired in uncertainty, in part, because a technical malfunction at the state has made it impossible for counties to know exactly what their COVID-19 case numbers are, leaving it unclear which counties qualify for the governor’s on-site learning waiver program.

Most schools in California have already announced that they plan to start this fall school year with all students at home and engaged in distance-learning education.

That includes schools in Sacramento, Yolo, and Placer counties, three watchlist counties that had been essentially prohibited prior to this week from offering on-site learning, given the high numbers COVID-19 cases in each of those counties over the past weeks.

Schools in other counties not on the state’s watchlist, including El Dorado County, are free to make that decision on their own.

The governor’s new proposal, unveiled Monday night, would allow the 38 counties statewide on the watchlist to grant waivers to some interested schools to allow K-6 students back to campus. County health officials would set up rules for returning students to schools, including limiting the number of students together in a classroom and requiring all students in 3rd to 6th grades to wear masks.

The schools would have to publish their safety plans beforehand, as well as consult with teacher and other labor representatives, parents and community organizations. Local health authorities could grant a waiver only after consulting with state health officials prior to granting the waiver.

Earlier this month, Newsom handed down strict guidelines for schools that do reopen this fall, including regular COVID-19 testing for staff, and required health screenings such as temperature checks for anyone entering buildings.

Dr. Mark Ghaly, Secretary of the California Health and Human Services for Newsom, said on Tuesday the state sees the waiver program as a step toward bringing more students back to schools judiciously over time.

“As we stick to our basic lessons, wearing your mask, staying physically distanced, washing your hands,” he said, “that will allow schools to put those thoughtful plans in place.”

The Newsom administration said in a statement that the justification is based on science that shows “COVID-related risks in schools serving elementary-age students are lower than and different from the risks to staff and to students in schools serving older students. In particular, there appears to be lower risk of child-to-child or child-to-adult transmission in children under age 12, and the risk of infection and serious illness in elementary schoolchildren is particularly low.”

It is uncertain this week whether Sacramento, Placer and Yolo counties currently qualify to offer waivers. Under the governor’s rules, those watchlist counties can only allow reopening of schools if the county is has registered fewer than 200 new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 population over the most recent two-week period.

State officials on Tuesday said they do not know yet when they can get the system back up and running properly.

If Sacramento is eligible, county health officials say they are willing to entertain waivers to reopen some elementary schools for on-site learning, but only if data show new COVID-19 case numbers dropping.

“We would have to pass the test of having a declining caseload,” said Dr. Peter Beilenson, Sacramento County’s health chief.

The county also will judge where it stands on testing capacity, to make sure that if someone at a school becomes infected, that doesn’t turn into a cluster of cases that would force reclosure of the school.

The goal, Beilenson said, is to set a relatively high bar for reopening of schools, but to be flexible enough to work with individual school districts and schools on their unique situations.

That involves figuring out how many students should be on campus at one time, and how many can safely populate a classroom, while maintaining distance.

“We are fluid and flexible,” he said, so, “if schools are interested we can evaluate them fairly expeditiously.”

School districts review governor’s waiver plan

Local school district officials said they are reviewing the governor’s waiver plans. As of Tuesday afternoon, Sacramento County health officials said they have not received any formal waiver requests from public schools.

But one major private entity, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento, plans to take advantage of the waiver program immediately for 17 elementary schools serving 7,000 students in Sacramento County, as well as for diocesan elementary schools in Yolo, Placer and other Northern California counties.

The diocese plans to submit a revised reopening plan to Sacramento County this week, followed by similar plans to other counties.

Lincoln Snyder, executive director of Sacramento diocesan schools, said he hopes to have children in classes soon after Labor Day weekend in September.

“The focus is on making sure social distances, and PPE and are protocols in place to make sure our kids are safe,” he said.

Sacramento public schools

Elk Grove Unified School District officials are taking a slower approach. Spokeswoman Xanthi Pinkerton said officials are reviewing the governor’s waiver plan and talking with county health officials, but are continuing forward with their existing “full distance learning plan” already in place for 18 elementary schools. Classes started distance learning on Monday.

Pinkerton said the district has a plan to transition into part-home, part-school education program at some point, and another plan for potential full on-site learning as well — all depending on evolving circumstances.

“We have been very vocal, though, it has to start with the ability to test (for COVID),” she said, as well as follow up that testing with a robust system for contacting anyone who has been in close contact with a COVID-positive individual.

Officials with Sacramento, San Juan and Folsom school districts all said they too are focused for now on starting up distance-learning, but will review the waiver program.

Placer County

Michelle Eklund, a spokeswoman with the Placer County Office of Education, said it’s too early to say which, if any, school districts in the county will pursue the waiver option, and how soon.

”We may know more in the coming days,” she said in an email. “But, everyone just got the new information late last night, so to comment on anything else would be premature at this time.

“At this time, the only thing I can say with confidence at this time is that it’s the desire of Placer County school leaders to have students back on campus for in-person instruction just as our families and communities do as well.”

El Dorado County

El Dorado is the only county in the Sacramento area that is not on the state’s “monitoring list.” Its COVID-19 case numbers are rising, but have remained below the level that would place it on that list.

That means El Dorado County can allow schools to open for on-site learning without having to go through the waiver program process. They will have to follow guidelines set by Newsom earlier this month, such as enforcing social distancing and requiring masks for staff and students in grades three and higher.

County Office of Education spokeswoman Dina Gentry on Tuesday said 9 of the county’s 15 school districts are opening with distance learning and that six are opening in a hybrid style of some in-person and some at-home learning.

Yolo County

Public health officials said they have heard from three private schools that are interested in submitting applications for waivers.

Garth Lewis, Yolo County’s Superintendent of Schools, said Tuesday evening that “no public schools in Yolo County have submitted an application” for on-site schooling. He said the education office was awaiting further instructions later this week when the process would be finalized.

This story was originally published August 5, 2020 at 5:00 AM.