California schools, child care centers to get $100 million to disinfect for coronavirus
Legislators also guarantee "full funding" during school closures.
The Legislature hurriedly approved emergency financial relief to help school districts cope with the costs of the coronavirus on Monday before adjourning for a month to comply with state and federal orders limiting gatherings to stem the spread of the contagion.
Legislators approved an initial $100 million for K-12 districts and child care centers to cover school cleaning expenses and adopted waivers that will ensure funding for school districts and state-funded child care during school closures. In a second bill, they approved spending up to $1 billion on emergency medical costs, including leasing two hospitals, to expand the capacity to respond to the pandemic.
Also on Monday, the chairman of the Assembly Education Committee, Patrick O’Donnell, D-Long Beach, said he would shepherd legislation that would give districts flexibility to meet the state’s minimum instructional time requirements. That has been one of the unresolved issues for districts that have closed schools.
On Friday, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order that assured school districts would be funded during closures and waived the minimum state requirement for 175 instructional days each year. The order also set conditions, including providing school meals outside of a cafeteria setting for low-income children, that districts would have to satisfy to get the money.
O’Donnell’s bill, which has not been published, would apply to those schools that want to make up the academic days — even though a shorter year would be legal. The bill would not provide additional funding, however. It would allow districts to extend the school day and count the extra instructional minutes toward the annual minimum instructional CONTINUE READING: California schools, child care centers to get $100 million to disinfect for coronavirus | EdSource