#California schools must meet strict guidelines for reopening: Gov. Newsom

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom
AP Photo/Hector Amezcua, Pool

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Friday that schools in much of the state will be prohibited from reopening in-person classes this fall unless they meet strict guidelines to protect students, and counties where they are located slow the spread of the coronavirus.

All public and private schools throughout California must also require staff and students in grades 3-12 to wear masks, and those in grades K-2 have to be encouraged to wear them, the San Fransisco Chronicle reported.

Older students who refuse to don masks will be required to participate in distance learning.

That makes California the first state to block students who don’t comply with the mask mandate from attending school in person.

The governor said the order against reopening classrooms would apply to schools located in counties that are on California’s monitoring list because of surging coronavirus infections and hospitalizations, the paper reported.

As of Friday, more than 30 of the state’s 58 counties were on the list.

“The virus will be with us for a year or more, and school districts must provide meaningful instruction in the midst of this pandemic,” Newsom said in a statement.

“Students, staff, and parents all prefer in-classroom instruction, but only if it can be done safely.”

Statewide, more than 80 percent of the population lives in watch-list counties.

Many school districts across the state, including San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego, have already said they will start the school year primarily with remote learning.

Newsom’s administration also said students should have their temperatures taken every day, that meals be served in classrooms, and that classes be confined to separate parts of the schoolyard for recess, The Chronicle reported.