Sacramento County amended its public health guidance Tuesday allowing for in-person instruction at all grade level schools with COVID-19 modifications.
Following the state's multi-tier reopening system, the county moved from Purple -- the most restrictive set of reopening guidelines -- to Red Tier on Sept. 29 and has maintained its standing on that tier.
If a county retains Red Tier for two consecutive weeks, it can resume in-person instruction with the condition of following guidelines for social distancing and face coverings. Sacramento County has been in the less restrictive Red Tier for two weeks.
However, the announcement comes as three of the largest teachers’ unions in the district released a joint letter asking to not reopen schools for the remainder of the year.
Teachers unions representing Sacramento City Unified, Natomas Unified and Twin Rivers Unified believe the earliest schools can safely reopen is January.
“January gives us sort of some breathing room, right? But it’s not a hard deadline,” David Fisher with the Sacramento City Teachers Association said. “We have seen in other communities that have opened up and oftentimes had to close and open. We don’t want the yo-yo effect.”
The three districts combined have roughly 80,000 students in the county.
“We want to make sure that we can open schools safely and that we have equity and that we do not have disparities in the Natomas District,” Brenda Borge with Natomas Teachers Association said. “The concern is if we open, and other schools in the county do not open, we could lose students across districts. So, if we are CONTINUE READING: Are Sacramento County public schools ready to reopen?
