This Sacramento school district announces date to get students and staff back to campuses

The San Juan Unified School District announced its reopening dates on Tuesday afternoon, with hopes to bring students back in person in early April.

The decision comes after district officials and the San Juan Teachers Association met to discuss what plans to take if Sacramento County enters the red tier later than anticipated.

Whether or not Sacramento County promotes to the red tier, students in transitional kindergarten through fifth grade and self-contained sixth-grade classes will have the option of returning in person April 5.

If Sacramento County enters the red tier on March 16 — the earliest possible date for promotion — elementary students and self-contained sixth grade classes can return March 22, although it’s unlikely.

Middle school and high school students will return to campuses once the county is in red tier for five days. If the county enters the red tier during spring break, scheduled for March 29 through April 2, middle and high school students can return to campuses April 12.

The agreement between the district and teachers requires that teachers are given at least a 14-day notice before the scheduled date of return. Both the grace period after entering red tier and the notification agreement delays San Juan’s reopening date until after Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Monday proposal to bring young students back to campus before April 1 or otherwise risk losing 1% of a school district’s funding.

“We were in discussion with our teachers association, and we had been working on finalizing an agreement for a few days now, so that was not part of the conversation,” district spokesperson Trent Allen said.

The decision, Allen said, was more based off the district’s week-long spring break schedule. Newsom’s reopening deadline takes place while San Juan students are on break. With students already off April 1 and 2, it’s unclear if the district could be penalized for not reopening by then.

“We are encouraged by recent progress in the health metrics that show us on track to move into that red tier in the coming weeks,” district Superintendent Kent Kern said. “Having this new agreement in place moves us closer to welcoming our students and staff back to the classroom.”

Students will return to campus in a hybrid model, two days a week.