New CSBA school reopening guidance provides critical support for governance teams solving issues at the local level
Registration is open for a webinar in which experts will bring local educational agencies and members of the media up to date on key features of recent guidance from CSBA, CDE and CDPH as well as what still needs to be addressed
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (June 9, 2020)– The California School Boards Association has released The Uncertain Road Ahead: Reopening Schools in the Time of COVID-19, a report which provides guidance to governance teams as they plan to reopen schools for the 2020–21 academic year. To accompany the guidance, CSBA is hosting a webinar, “The Uncertain Road Ahead: Real-world applications of school reopening guidance,” Tuesday, June 16, 1–2:30 p.m. in which a panel of experts will review recent state guidance and explain how the CSBA report fills in some of the gaps.
Read the report here.
While the California Department of Public Health and the California Department of Education recently issued reports on reopening schools, more attention is needed on the challenges faced by local school districts and county offices of education and the considerable barriers to properly implementing the guidance. The fact remains that, under current conditions, many schools lack the resources and support needed to reopen in a safe and effective manner.
It is important that leaders take a realistic look at how California schools can reopen for in-person instruction given the current level of support and funding for public education. As the Education Coalition recently noted, California’s school funding is inadequate in the best of times and woefully insufficient to deal with the avalanche of existing COVID-19-related costs and new expenses suggested by the recent guidance.
The Uncertain Road Ahead presents a robust examination of what it will take to reopen our schools safely and effectively, and provides in-depth resources related to the health and safety of students and faculty, equity, funding and flexibility, and adaptable, high-quality teaching and learning. The guidance can be used as a framework in which district and county office boards can make decisions based on their local circumstances. Each section features questions that governance teams should ask as they plan for resuming in-person instruction.
“When classes resume, COVID-19 will still be here, and Californians will continue to rely on their local schools for safety and support, with the expectation of a high-quality education for every student. Meeting those expectations is a daunting prospect for which no road map exists,” said CSBA CEO & Executive Director Vernon M. Billy. “This guidance should serve to make this arduous task a bit easier and provide the knowledge and support districts and county offices of education need to move through the planning process.”
The Uncertain Road Aheadreport is the latest addition to the suite of COVID-19-related materials that CSBA has developed, which includes a comprehensive pandemic sample policy for reopening schools, a funding advocacy toolkit and a COVID-19 webinar series. Many of these resources are available on CSBA’s dedicated COVID-19 webpage.
CSBA is a nonprofit association representing nearly 1,000 PreK-12 school districts
and county offices of education throughout California.
www.csba.org