Two of the largest school districts in California, the 730,000-student Los Angeles Unified School District and the 135,000-student San Diego Unified School District, will start fall classes online only, according to reporting by USA Today.

Donald Trump and Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, as well as other members of the Administration, have pushed schools to make in-person classes mandatory this fall in an effort to make it easier for parents to return to work, thereby jumpstarting the failing economy.

However, the guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention call for maintaining social distancing and extensive sanitization efforts which make in-person schooling virtually impossible.

In a CNN interview yesterday, for example, the superintendent for Faixfax County (VA) schools said that although they have as much classroom space as the Pentagon has office space, they would have to build five more Pentagons worth of space to come close to matching CDC guidelines.

In a joint statement, LAUSD and SDUSD noted “The skyrocketing infection rates of the past few weeks make it clear the pandemic is not under control,” calling for assistance from the state and federal government to make it safe for children, teachers and staff to return.

They also noted, “This announcement represents a significant disappointment for the many thousands of teachers, administrators and support staff, who were looking forward to welcoming students back in August.”