Today, April 27, 2020, Austin Beutner, Superintendent of Los Angeles Unified School District updated families regarding reopening of schools.
It has been 25 school days since closure of schools and transition to distance learning. Beutner said, "Reopening of schools will be a gradual process with a schedule and school day that may be different. But before that can happen, health authorities have to solve some very real issues for the safe return of our school community."
He added that 75,000+ employees serve the needs of almost 700,000 students who live with another couple of million people. And the following questions need to be answered before safe return to schools:
Will testing be available for all employees, students and their families?
Who will pay for testing?
He continued, "A robust system of testing and contact tracing will need to be in place before any serious talk begins about reopening schools.... We closed school facilities on March 13 so our schools did not become a petri dish and cause the virus to spread in the communities we serve. That's worked. We do not want to reverse that in the hasty return to schools."
LAUSD will remain in close coordination with state and local authorities for guidance on the issues. Meanwhile, LAUSD will continue to provide meals to students and their families through Garb and Go Centers.
For more information about reopening of the schools and the latest news, visit LAUSD's official website.
