The Superintendent of Public Instruction says chances of campuses reopening this academic year are unlikely.
The novel coronavirus outbreak has forced closures all over the nation, even causing unprecedented disruption in schooling. Supt. Tony Thurmond sent a letter to school district officials on Tuesday to address that it doesn’t appear students will be returning to school campuses this school year.
According to tracking by Education Week, there have been seven other states that have already shut down school campuses for the remainder of the year due to current safety concerns and needs for social distancing. It seems as though it’s only a matter of time before many more begin to follow suit.
Los Angeles Unified temporarily shut down operations on March 16, with hopeful plans to open doors again before having to extend campus closure to follow the county’s shelter-in-place order. This leaves the largest school district in the state having to make a sudden shift in offering resources as wells as classes online to ensure that children are still learning.
According to the L.A. Times, the city’s school board President Richard Vladovice says school districts have yet to receive firm state guidance on how students should be graded, how attendance requirements will be modified and how graduation requirements could be affected. Vladovic’s plan is to tackle a number of issues while aiming for consistency throughout the state so that kids don’t get academically cheated .
Watch the full news brief from California Gov. Gavin Newsom, here.
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