Gov. Gavin Newsom and state legislative leaders have agreed on a deal to resume in-person education for some California public school students, providing incentives — but not a mandate — for thousands of schools to open their doors by the end of March.
The legislation, announced Monday, comes after weeks of high-stakes negotiations between Newsom and top Democrats in the Senate and Assembly. The two sides were tasked with balancing the demands of parents eager for their children to return to class and the hesitancy of powerful teachers unions who are demanding heightened COVID-19 protection measures for their members.
"We all are united around coming back safely into the schools and helping with the social and emotional supports that our kids so desperately need," Newsom said at a press conference announcing the deal.
Newsom has faced daily questions about the progress of reopening talks, as his political opponents have made the school debate a centerpiece of their effort to recall him from office.
Under the agreement, the state is dangling $2 billion in incentives for school districts to open classrooms — without many of the hurdles contained in previous proposals.
For one, children in kindergarten through second grade will be able to return to class if they are in a county in the purple, most restrictive, reopening tier (with at least seven new daily coronavirus cases per 100,000 residents and a test positivity rate of 8%), which the vast majority of the state currently falls under.