Anaheim USD and Santa Ana USD, the two largest schools districts in Orange County, California, will open this fall with full distance-learning schedules, defying the county Board of Education which not only recommended recalling students in the fall, but also dismissed public health guidelines, according to reporting from CNN.
At yesterday’s county Board of Education meeting, members released guidelines for the reopening of classrooms for the new school year. In a 50-page white paper, the board dismissed CDC recommendations on safely opening schools.
Among the items in the General Recommendations of the white paper, the board stated:
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K-12 children represent the lowest-risk cohort for Covid-19. Because of that fact, social distancing of children and reduced census classrooms is not necessary and therefore not recommended.
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Requiring children to wear masks during school is not only difficult – if not impossible to implement – but not based on science. It may even be harmful and is therefore not recommended.
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Children play a very minor role in the spread of Covid-19. Teachers and staff are in greater danger of infection from other adults, including parents, than from students in their classrooms.
Other school districts may join Anaheim and Santa Ana in starting next year with remote learning. Irvine, Huntington Beach and La Habra City school districts will consider whether to return students to classrooms or use a hybrid model.
The superintendent of Magnolia School District, Frank Donavan, berated the county board of education for putting politics above the safety of students and staff: “The Board’s vote last night is not safe and is politicizing something that shouldn’t be political.”