Can Los Angeles Schools Test 700,000 Students and 75,000 Employees? That’s the Plan
Classes will start remotely. But the nation’s second-largest school district has perhaps the most ambitious plan to test students and employees for the coronavirus.
Amid public alarm over the inadequacy of coronavirus testing across the nation, Los Angeles schools on Monday will begin a sweeping program to test hundreds of thousands of students and teachers as the nation’s second-largest school district goes back to school — online.
The program, which will be rolled out over the next few months by the Los Angeles Unified School District, will administer tests to nearly 700,000 students and 75,000 employees as the district awaits permission from public health authorities to resume in-person instruction, said Austin Beutner, the district’s superintendent.
It appears to be the most ambitious testing initiative so far among major public school districts, most of which are also starting school remotely but have yet to announce detailed testing plans.
New York City, where the virus has been under control, is the only major school district in the country planning to welcome students back into classrooms part time this fall.
The city is asking all staff members to be tested before school starts on Sept 10 and has said it will provide expedited results.
Staff members should be tested regularly throughout the school year, New York City has said. It is not yet clear how often students will be tested or whether the city will take random samples from the 1.1 million children at its 1,800 public schools.
Mr. Beutner said that Los Angeles’s program, developed over the past four months, would begin this week, well before schools are expected to let students into classrooms, and that it would augment — and probably far exceed — existing testing efforts run by the city and county of Los Angeles. CONTINUE READING: Can Los Angeles Schools Test 700,000 Students and 75,000 Employees? That’s the Plan - The New York Times