LA and San Diego Schools to Hold Online-Only Classes in The Fall

• By Yvonne Marquez
• 07/13/20

Los Angeles Unified School District and San Diego Unified School District announced they will not reopen for in-person classes next month due to increasing COVID-19 cases.

“Those countries that have managed to safely reopen schools have done so with declining infection rates and on-demand testing available,” a joint statement from the two districts said. “California has neither. The skyrocketing infection rates of the past few weeks make it clear the pandemic is not under control.”

LA Unified and San Diego Unified school districts are the largest in California, and together serve about 825,000 students. The students will continue to learn remotely as they did during the end of last school year. LA begins the new school year Aug. 18 and San Diego begins on Aug. 31.

The announcement comes as California’s death toll from the coronavirus rose to more than 7,000 and averages more than 8,000 new cases a day. In addition, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced sweeping rollbacks on reopening plans by closing indoor operations for restaurants, wineries, movie theaters, and zoos and ordering bars to close completely.

In Los Angeles, 83% of about 18,000 teachers union members said schools should remain closed in the fall, according to a survey by United Teachers Los Angeles. The California Teachers Association sent a letter to Gov. Newsom expressing their concerns, stating “Simply said, California cannot reopen schools unless they are safe.”

More information about LA’s online instruction and plans for the upcoming school year will be finalized the first week of August. Both districts continue to plan for a return to in-person learning during the 2020-2021 school year, “as soon as public health conditions allow.”