The San Francisco Unified School District on Saturday took a major step toward reopening schools by reaching a tentative agreement with labor unions on health and safety standards for in-person learning in all grades.
The tentative agreement covers baseline health and safety standards, district and union representatives said, including the return of students to classrooms when the city and county have reached the red tier of California's Blueprint for a Safer Economy, as determined by the California Department of Public Health. In addition, all staff members returning to schools or worksites must have had the opportunity to be vaccinated.
Alternatively, if the city moves into the orange tier, which is considered one level safer in terms of coronavirus transmission risk, students can return to classes regardless of the availability of vaccines for teachers.
Other measures in the agreement include health screenings, cleaning protocols, contact tracing, ventilation upgrades, socially distanced classrooms, personal protective equipment and regular testing for students and staff.
"I want to thank all of the district employees who have been working for months to get our schools ready so that we can return safely as soon as possible," district Superintendent Dr. Vincent Matthews said in a statement. "I'm looking forward to opening our school doors for more staff to begin preparations to welcome students back."
The unions expressed cautious optimism about the deal.
"This agreement sets the stage to safely reopen schools in San Francisco," said Susan Solomon, president of United Educators of San Francisco. "Now we need city and state officials to step up and make vaccines available to school staff now, while UESF continues to focus on finalizing agreements around classroom instruction, schedules, and continuing to improve remote learning for the students and families who choose not to return even with these standards in place."
Rudy Gonzalez, of the San Francisco Building and Trades Council, said, "We remain clear-eyed about limitations due to underfunding, retention and staffing challenges, but nevertheless we see hope in this agreement. We look forward to support from our federal, state and local leaders to help us realize learning environments and facilities that are worthy of our students."
Talks between the district and its unions began in September. But on Wednesday, San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera announced his office was filing a lawsuit seeking a court order to direct the district and Board of Education to come up with a plan to offer in-person learning as soon as possible.
John Coté, communications director for the city attorney's office, said in an email that if the agreement contains "anything short of the specific, concrete details required under state law," the lawsuit would continue.
He called the deal "progress" but said, "it's not enough."
"(S)o far this raises more questions than answers," he said. "There does not appear to be any agreement on classroom instruction and schedules, for example."
Coté said San Francisco is required to follow California's vaccination plan, which no longer prioritizes essential workers. Meanwhile, he said, the city's and state's health departments and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have not made vaccination a prerequisite for reopening schools.
The district said the tentative agreement will come before the Board of Education for ratification on Feb. 16.
—Bay City News and KQED News