County office of education, public health department draft guidelines for fall reopening

As school districts finalize their fall plans, the Ventura County Office of Education has created a set of guidelines for reopening. 

The guidelines, made in partnership with Ventura County Public Health, build on the state Department of Education guidebook shared June 8. 

The public health department is currently reviewing the draft guidelines, and a final version will be shared publicly at a later date, according to Dave Schermer, VCOE director of communications.

Many local school districts are considering both remote and hybrid learning models. The hybrid would mix remote and in-person learning.

Districts will need to go through the Office of Education for guidance and feedback on their plans. If the plans are satisfactory, the county office will then recommend them to Public Health, according to Antonio Castro, VCOE assistant superintendent of educational services.

Districts have until Aug. 5 to submit plans.

Overall guidance on reopening schools

Local guidelines are based on documents released by the California Department of Public Health and the state education department.

The foundation of the county’s guidelines — referred to as guiding principles — centers on four key points: health and wellness taking into account socioeconomic factors; gaps in educational achievement; access to nutrition and exercise; and establishing proper quarantine protocol for students, teachers and staff. 

Castro said the county called the principles section a “living document,” allowing for changes as state and local leadership determine next steps while the number of COVID-19 cases fluctuates.

The framework also goes into detail about plan expectations. Districts are required to answer a series of questions relating back to those four key points. 

Quarantine protocol: Masks or no masks?

A whole section of the framework is dedicated to healthy and consistent hygiene. The county health department will require districts to teach students, teachers and staff how to properly wash their hands and reinforce the lessons. The office of education has received crates of face shields and hand sanitizer from California Office of Emergency Services for county schools.

Of all the hygiene protocols, wearing face coverings has proven to be one of the most controversial recommendations. 

At a June 16 Conejo Valley Unified School District board meeting, speakers raised concerns about low oxygen and high carbon dioxide levels while wearing masks.

Dr. Raj Bhatia, an Oxnard-based lung doctor, said in an interview with The Star that there was no scientific evidence to support the concern that face coverings — cloth, surgical or N95 — could affect those levels. His words were echoed by Ventura County Public Health Officer Dr. Robert Levin. 

Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an order June 18 requiring Californians to wear face coverings in public and high-risk areas. As of today, there is no state or local requirement for students in grades K-12 to wear masks in a school environment.

“At this point, I still have hopes that the state will provide uniform guidance across the state for that,” said Levin. 

If the state does not provide guidance, it will be up to Levin to make the call.

Each school district will be required to designate two liaisons to work with public health in case of a suspected or confirmed COVID-19 infection. The liaisons will assist the department with contact tracing. 

Reopening will require creativity

What will school days look like?

In a word: different. Social distancing has forced districts to get creative about transportation and scheduling. 

In the Pleasant Valley School District, Superintendent Angelica Ramsey said in a June 5 letter that compliance with official regulation would mean 13 to 14 students per bus. For perspective, the district's largest school buses can transport 79 to 84 students.

Oak Park’s Re-entry Task Force is considering two hybrid block schedules. Students would be split into two groups, A and B. In both scenarios, students would have in-person instruction twice a week.

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The "safer" option, described by Ragini Aggarwal, executive assistant to the superintendent, has students going five days, which includes weekends, without seeing teachers in-person. This option could help stop coronavirus spread and assist with contact tracing. 

Students in Oxnard Union will move to the four-quarter system, each taking three to four classes per quarter, the district confirmed. Each class would last about 90 minutes.

With social distancing, schools will be required to adhere to at least six feet between all individuals. Desks will be spaced apart or could even include partitions to minimize face-to-face contact, according to the county.

Cost of reopening California schools

Another challenge districts face is establishing safety protocols within the constraints of struggling budgets.

School districts in the county mostly rely on a mix of state and local funding. The state uses the Local Control Funding Formula, which determines funding for school districts based on numerous factors.

For perspective, 82 percent of Conejo Valley's general fund revenue for the 2020-21 school year —  about $163.9 million of the total $199.8 million — comes from the LCFF. The rest comes other local and state funding, and incoming transfers.

The governor signed into law a $202.1 billion 2020-21 budget last week. About $98 billion of that is designated for K-12, which is a positive, given that Newsom had proposed billions of cuts to education funding.

The budget includes a one-time, $5.3 billion investment to help districts reopen in the fall. Factors to consider include transportation, personal protective equipment for students and staff, distancing measures and cleaning procedures.

A stipulation of the funding is that school districts must maintain daily attendance records for all students. Despite initial concern, Castro said that would not be a problem given master schedule software, which establishes where students are at any given time, and other teaching tools like Google Classroom.

However, $11 billion of that education funding is wrapped up in deferrals, or payment delay. The state is hoping federal stimulus aid will help offset that cost, but school districts will have to offset the missing money through borrowing in the meantime.

Shivani Patel covers education for The Star as a Report for America corps member. Reach her at 805-603-6573 or shivani.patel@vcstar.com.