Waivers process for elementary schools to reopen in-person released by state

Aug. 4--Elementary schools now have a detailed waiver process they can follow to opt-out of online learning in the fall and resume in-person instruction for the new academic year.

The California Department of Public Health released Monday night a waiver application form along with information on what's needed before county public health officials can grant some elementary schools permission to open.

The new rules require applicants to consult with parent, labor and community organizations at their school site. It also requires schools to submit detailed plans that include how they will maintain social distancing, keep campuses clean and disinfected, conduct health screenings and staff training, among other things. The plan, which must be posted publicly, needs to also include what could trigger a switch back to distance learning.

On July 17, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that public and private schools in counties seeing a spike in coronavirus cases will have to open the new academic year with online learning. Newsom's order affects all counties on a monitoring list, including Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside counties.

That same day, the California Department of Public Health issued a 19-page memo offering guidance on school reopenings, but there was no mention of a waiver.

The waiver was noted in what appears to be a footnote in another document issued also on July 17 by the same agency. Since then, some Southern California schools -- notably private and parochial schools -- have been anxiously awaiting release of a waiver application.

In Orange County, the Diocese of Orange joined at least 50 private schools in expressing its interest in recent weeks to the Orange County Health Care Agency, which as of Tuesday morning had not released its guidelines on how it plans to process the applications or its specific requirements, such as whether it will follow in L.A. County's footsteps and demand labor union support.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health is requiring written support from labor unions as part of the application process. It's also requiring letters of support from parent organizations and any community-based organizations that provide educational services.

Catholic dioceses in Southern California are home to the largest number of private schools but they're not all taking the same approach.

The Diocese of Orange plans to apply for the waivers for its elementary-age students. The Diocese of San Bernardino, which has 30 schools in San Bernardino and Riverside counties, will not -- opening instead with online learning, a spokesman said Tuesday.

Bishop Gerald Barnes and Superintendent of Catholic Schools Sam Torres decided that schools in the Inland Empire will have schools "entirely online to begin the year and will evaluate monthly as conditions with COVID-19 evolve," spokesman John Andrews wrote in an e-mail.

At the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, Superintendent of Catholic Schools Paul Escala said the elementary school waiver application protocol is under review. But individual Catholic elementary schools may apply on their own to the county health department. The Archdiocese has 265 schools across Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.

"We intend to support those school communities who can meet the criteria outlined in the state protocol to return to in-person instruction safely," Escala said.

Most of the private and parochial schools looking at waivers do not have unions representing their teachers and staff.

The California Teachers Association opposes the waivers.

"California cannot reopen schools unless it is safe. That applies to all schools on county watch lists or not, and to schools districts seeking waivers ...counties are on that watch list for a reason," said CTA President E. Toby Boyd in an e-mail Tuesday.

The waivers will "further exacerbate the racial and economic inequities that exist in our schools and communities," Boyd added.

Officials at parochial schools and some other private campuses said many of their students come from low-income households. They also argue that their campuses are better equipped to handle smaller groups of students and keep them socially distanced than larger public school campuses.

Many of the prospective applicants feature K-8 schools and school administrators were hoping that they could apply for a waiver for their entire campus. But state officials made it clear in their new rules that a waiver would only apply to kindergarten through sixth grade and not the older grades. School administrators who had planned to apply for their K-8 programs expressed disappointment. Some said they plan to apply nonetheless for a waiver that will allow their younger students, from transitional kindergarten through sixth grades, to be on campus.

"It's unfortunate that the waiver is only available for TK-6th grades," said Fairmont Schools spokeswoman Danyelle Knight. "However, we are hopeful that OC's COVID numbers will continue to improve and we will be cleared to bring our 7th-12th grade students back very soon.

"Fairmont's reopening plan offers parents a valuable choice in educating their children -- remote learning via livestream classroom or on-campus learning with enhanced safety protocols. We remain committed to this plan as we comply with the newly released waiver requirements," Knight wrote in an e-mail Tuesday.

The Diocese of Orange also will apply for waivers for its students in transitional kindergarten through sixth grade.

"While we would prefer the waivers extend to include all of our grades, it is of paramount importance that our youngest students be allowed to return to the classroom for in-person instruction," Erin Barisano, the Diocese Catholic Schools superintendent, wrote in an email Tuesday.

"The process and templates are straightforward. It will take a good amount of effort from school principals and coordination from the Department of Catholic Schools to gather the required information, but we feel confident that each school's re-opening plan is comprehensive and includes the required health and safety topics," Barisano wrote.

Catholic schools in Orange County moved their start date to Sept. 8, giving school staff "the right amount of time to complete and file the waiver in order for our elementary students to begin the school year in-person instruction," he continued.

In a survey conducted at the end of May, 83% of parents in Diocese of Orange schools favored returning to campus for in-person instruction. A new survey is underway and will be included in the application packet, Barisano said.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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