LA Schools To Reopen Fully In The Fall But Virtual Option Remains

LOS ANGELES, CA — Students in the Los Angeles Unified School District will have a choice between full-time in-person instruction or remote learning in the fall, Superintendent Austin Beutner announced Monday.

The announcement means that 650,000 students will be able to have a normal school year for the first time since the start of the pandemic. LAUSD, the nation's second-largest school district is taking a different approach than the nation's largest school district in New York, which is eliminating the online option in favor of in-person only learning.

Superintendent Austin Beutner said he expects the vast majority of students, teachers and staff to be at school every day starting in August despite the online option for those who are unable or choose not to return to the classroom.

Vaccines are available for eligible students and family members at various LAUSD locations, and the school district is offering incentives to encourage students to get vaccinated. Currently COVID-19 vaccines are available to students 12 and over. Clinical trials are underway for children as young as six-months-old, but emerngry authorization for use on younger children isn't expected until late fall or early winter.

In the meantime, district officials are encouraging everyone to get vaccinated.

"Ninety percent of people on a school campus at any point in time are children. Herd immunity won't be reached in schools or in the broader community until children are vaccinated," Beutner said about the district, which serves almost 650,000 students in schools spread across 710 square miles. Of those students, almost 300,000 are ages 12 and older who are now eligible for the vaccine.

The district is planning to offer vaccines at each middle and high school campus at least once before the school year ends on June 11 and again during the summer. To incentivize the shots, food trucks will provide refreshments for students and their family members, and schools, where more than 30% of students are vaccinated, will each receive $5,000 for projects at their school.

UCLA pediatrician Jennifer Brazier Peralta joined the superintendent during his weekly briefing this week to encourage all parents to consider vaccinating their children. She emphasized that children can unknowingly contract and spread the virus, just like adults.

"Children can still get very, very sick from COVID," she said. "Vaccination is one of the best ways to keep them safe and their families safe as well."

Adults must accompany minors receiving a vaccine.

"Because health authorities require a family member to accompany anyone under 16 when they are being vaccinated, Los Angeles Unified will provide paid time off to all staff to be able to help their children," Beutner said, noting that other agencies also are encouraging and offering paid time off for parents to vaccinate their children, including the Department of Water and Power, Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, Central City Association of Los Angeles, and Valley Industry and Commerce Association.

"We want to encourage every eligible child to get the COVID-19 vaccine to protect themselves, their families and our community," LADWP General Manager and Chief Engineer Martin L. Adams said. "We hope other major employers will join us in supporting employees in taking steps to get every eligible child vaccinated. Employees shouldn't have to choose between a couple of hours' wages and the health and welfare of their child and family."

Beutner said it remains unclear what safety standards will still be required in the fall.

"We expect students and staff will continue to wear masks until more children have been vaccinated," he said. "But August is still three months away and we can't predict exactly what standards health authorities will tell us are appropriate at that time. ... While we have some sense of what school will look like, our COVID crystal ball is not perfect."

The district is also beginning to plan commencement ceremonies, which took place virtually last year due to the pandemic. Beutner said graduation is an important part of any child's journey.

And beyond graduation, the district has confirmed that it will offer summer school for all students with on-campus and at-home options.

Anyone with questions about receiving a free vaccination at a neighborhood school may call the Family Vaccination Hotline at 213-328-3958 or visit LAUSD's website at https://achieve.lausd.net/domain/4.

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