Will California schools really reopen? + Latinas missing on corporate boards + Shut down, again
So much for your back-to-the gym plans. California is closing down again.
WILL SCHOOLS REALLY REOPEN?
Los Angeles is waiting to open schools for in-person learning. So is San Diego.
The Orange County Board of Education wants run forward, preparing to hold a full schedule of classes this fall with no requirements that students wear masks.
Sacramento schools are trying something in between.
Without a definitive statewide decision on whether schools should reopen their physical doors this fall, each California district is pursuing its own path. The Bee’s Hannah Wiley has more in this story today.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday a statewide approach doesn’t work in a state with more than 1,000 districts serving more than 6 million children. He noted that the state has published guidance for how schools can safely reopen, and said more is coming.
The new state budget, he said, allocated $5.3 billion to provide schools with necessary assets to keep students and staff safe and to assist with distance learning if necessary.
“Each district is unique and distinctive,” he said.
Teachers unions that are advocating for a statewide mandate aren’t finding one. They’re worried about educators and kids who could bring COVID-19 home to their grandparents.
“With cases surging and individual school districts shouldn’t have to address the crisis on their own, we need the governor to assume a greater leadership role – directing school districts to delay reopening and then providing clearer direction and support for when it is safe to do so,” California Federation of Teachers President Jeff Freitas said. “Only when the state can provide clearer guidance and support should schools reopen.”
And parents are facing tough decisions. A headline from The Fresno Bee summed up their choice well: “Parents fear sending kids back to school — and they fear keeping them home.”
“I have to think about how I’m going to feel when I get the call from our elementary school that someone tested positive for COVID-19,” Clovis parent Calvin Fleming told The Fresno Bee’s Education Lab. “Will my kids be OK? Will their teachers be OK? What happens if they test positive, but are asymptomatic and gave it to me? Did they give it to their grandma who lives with us and is a cancer survivor?”
STUDY FINDS LATINAS VASTLY UNDER-REPRESENTED ON CORPORATE BOARDS
Latinas are underrepresented on California corporate boards of directors despite recent efforts to compel businesses to bring more women into leadership positions, according to a new analysis conducted by a Latino advocacy group.
The study found Latinas make up 3.3% of board member seats in a state where Latinos account for 39% of the state population.
The analysis of 662 California headquartered, public companies, conducted by the Latino Corporate Directors Association, identified that 35%, or 233 companies, of boards are all-white boards, with no ethnic of racial diversity.
“We see a lot of white women being appointed to boards, whereas women of color are left out,” said Kathy Jurado Munoz, advocacy and demand vice president for the Latino Corporate Directors Association.
The study follows California’s adoption of a 2018 law signed by former Gov. Jerry Brown that requires publicly traded corporations to appoint women to their boards of directors.
Its critics refer to the law as a “women quota,” and conservative organizations have sued to overturn it. So far, it has held up in court with a federal judge in April dismissing a lawsuit filed by the Pacific Legal Foundation on behalf of a shareholder in a security systems manufacturer.
Lawmakers have put forward a bill that would compel corporations to appoint more diverse boards of directors.
Assembly Bill 979, jointly authored by Assembly members Chris Holden, D-Pasadena, and Cristina Garcia, D-Bell Gardens, would require a corporation to have at least one director from an underrepresented community serve on its board by the end of 2021 . An underrepresented individual is defined in the bill as African American, Hispanic or Native American.
If a corporation’s number of board directors is nine or over, the board would have to include a minimum of three directors from underrepresented communities by 2023, according to the bill. The bill would also require the Secretary of State to publish reports on its website on the boards of directors that are in compliance and fine those in violation.
It is awaiting a committee hearing.
CA GOP SENATE CAUCUS BLASTS NEWSOM’S ORDER
While it’s fair to say nobody is exactly happy that 80 percent of the state is effectively closed down again, the California Senate Republican Caucus is really unhappy about it.
The group’s Twitter account excoriated Gov. Newsom’s Monday decision in a series of blistering tweets.
“Gov. @GavinNewsom shuts down the state again. Does this shutdown also include protests, looting or rioting? Will Gov. also still be providing permits for capitol protests/activities?” the account asked in one particular tweet.
In another tweet, the account wrote that businesses spent thousands of dollars to comply with Newsom’s reopening requirements and to rehire staff.
“California deserves a level of certainty, not flip-flopping policy directives,” the account wrote.
The caucus Twitter account called Newsom’s decision “confusing,” “chaotic” and “vague.”
For his part, Newsom in his Monday press conference reiterated that reopening the state’s economy would be like a dimmer switch, not an off and on switch. He pointed to rising hospitalization and intensive care unit rates as part of the justification for the order.
“This continues to be a deadly disease. This continues to be a disease that puts people in our ICUs and our hospitals. and is currently putting a strain on our hospital system and our ICUs,” Newsom said.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“A 14-day wait for test results in California is simply inexcusable and a failure of state leadership.”
- U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Fremont, via Twitter.
Best of the Bee:
No longer shy about challenging scofflaw businesses, two Sacramento-area counties now say they will fine or suspend permits of businesses that resist coronavirus safety measures, via Dale Kasler and Tony Bizjak.
Rep. Devin Nunes’ Democratic opponent is raising big money off of news about the incumbent’s lawsuits against media organizations and his online critics, via Kate Irby.
The economy is far from being back to pre-pandemic levels, and Gov. Gavin Newsom Wednesday ordered new restrictions. But people are slowly being called back to work, and those receiving unemployment benefits face new challenges as they try to navigate what, if anything, they can collect, via David Lightman.
This story was originally published July 14, 2020 at 4:55 AM.