LA County Schools Begin The Reopening Process

LOS ANGELES, CA — In a move sure to come as a vast relief to many parents while still introducing a whole new set of anxieties, schools in Los Angeles County were allowed to begin applying waivers to allow in-person instruction for pre-kindergarten through second-grade students.

While only 30 schools a week will be permitted to open, the move has been a longtime coming for many families. Many private schools have announced plans to apply for waivers while districts such as Los Angeles Unified have indicated that reopenings are unlikely to occur this year.

On Tuesday, Supervisor Janice Hahn, who joined Supervisor Kathryn Barger in pushing for the waivers last week, posted a tweet to alert schools that the waiver application was now live.

"Any LA County Elementary School can now apply to re-open for in- person learning for grades TK-2nd. Parent, teacher, and staff approval required," she wrote.

The county will prioritize schools with the highest number of low-income students who receive free or reduced-price school lunches.

Waivers will be offered equally across all five county supervisorial districts, but if the cap is not reached in any given week, schools with the highest percentage of students qualified for lunch subsidies will be accommodated, regardless of location.

"All students are entitled to a free and appropriate education. For many of our students most at risk, distance learning is neither free nor appropriate," Barger said last week. "It is critical that we begin the process of reopening our schools at limited capacity (and) slowly bring students, teachers and staff back to campus."

More than 500 schools in the county have already partially opened to offer services to high-need students.

Schools seeking waivers for pre-K to 2nd graders can apply using a short one-page form at bit.ly/3iAuRzB, but must also submit letters of support from labor unions and parent organizations. Administrators must also attest that they have enough personal protective equipment on hand and a plan for testing school personnel for the virus, if required by public health officers based on future transmission trends.

All materials will be posted publicly once a waiver is granted.

Waivers are not automatically granted, and classes cannot reopen until the public health officer has communicated approval.

More information is available at bit.ly/3iAGHcK.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.