Fact check: Is Gavin Newsom right that a majority of California schools are open?

CLAIM: Speaking at an elementary school in Sonoma County last week, California Gov. Gavin Newsom said “9,000 plus schools, as of last month, out of 11,000 schools have firmly either reopened for in-person instruction or announced a date for in-person instruction.”

RATING: True, but...

DETAILS: Newsom gives the impression that a large majority of California school children are receiving their instruction in person. In reality, many students are still doing distance learning full time, while many of those who have the option to attend in-person classes are only doing so a few days a week.

According to the governor’s office, Newsom’s 9,000 out of 11,000 figure is based on reports the administration received from school districts between January and March about school reopening. At that time, about 85% of districts told the administration they were already offering or had a date to begin offering in-person instruction.

While it might be true that 85% of schools told the state they were offering in-person instruction or planned to over a month ago, that didn’t measure whether students also were engaging in distance learning.

Under Assembly Bill 86, signed in early March, school districts are now required to report a much more granular level of data to the state twice a month, including what method of instruction they currently offer: in-person, hybrid or distance, and how many students are attending in each of them.

California doesn’t provide cumulative totals for how many school districts are currently offering in-person instruction. An analysis of state data by the Los Angeles Times, however, shows 62% of elementary students, 37% of middle school students and 39% of high school students had the option to return as of April 22.

Even under the new, more granular reporting requirement, not all districts are regularly reporting, Newsom’s office said, which makes it hard to gather a complete picture of California’s school reopening progress.

California, like a majority of states, does not have a mandate to keep schools closed or open. Some states, like Delaware, Hawaii, and the District of Columbia, still have orders in place to keep schools closed. Other states, like Washington and Oregon, have directives to open schools.

Newsom and California leaders have encouraged schools to return to in-person instruction, but stopped short of requiring them to do so.

Despite putting up $6.6 billion in funds to help districts return to classrooms, the question of when to open and exactly how has been left mostly up to individual school districts, who must bargain with employee and teachers unions on the terms of return before opening their doors.

This story was originally published April 23, 2021 at 5:00 AM.