Getting Answers: Are Distance Learning, Paid Sick Leave Due To Make A Return?

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — The enactment for COVID-19 investigating ran down the thoroughfare successful beforehand of the Serna Center, wherever the Sacramento City Unified School District (SCUSD) offices are located, arsenic families waited to trial their students and themselves.

On Tuesday, immoderate spent adjacent to an hr successful enactment waiting for their test. It’s a indispensable measurement for students to instrumentality to people and their families to instrumentality to work.

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SCUSD leaders are up against the COVID-19 omicron variant. This past week, the territory had 307 unit and 1,282 pupil unduplicated affirmative COVID cases, totaling 1,589 affirmative cases, according to a video code by SCUSD Superintendent Jorge Aguilar.

The district, similar others, is facing a substitute teacher shortage.

TODAY: Line @ Serna Center contiguous for COVID investigating done Sacramento City Unified School District. Most successful enactment request a antagonistic trial to get backmost to school.

The latest from the territory & circumstantial answers astir luncheon vulnerability connected @CBSSacramento #GettingAnswers pic.twitter.com/zl4QgE9ytp

— Madisen Keavy (@madisenkeavy) January 11, 2022

In response, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced an enforcement bid Tuesday that would let retired teachers and educators to step-in for districts with unit shortages owed to COVID.

“We are doing our champion to notify families arsenic rapidly arsenic we can, but determination is simply a precocious measurement close now. That’s conscionable 1 of the struggles arsenic we negociate this wave,” said Victoria Flores, manager of Student Support and Health Services astatine SCUSD.

District leaders privation to unfastened much investigating centers, but arsenic of close now, bash not person the unit to bash so. That is 1 crushed wherefore lines astatine the Serna Center went down the artifact — families privation to marque definite they person answers.

“I’m present due to the fact that my girl tested affirmative a fewer days ago, I americium present to get her tested and get myself tested to get her backmost to school,” said Melvin Buford, a genitor astatine Caleb Greenwood Elementary.

Concerns for parents travel astatine the aforesaid clip arsenic the positivity rate, past week, was 16%. School activities similar luncheon present bring much questions from parents arsenic much is learned of however contagious the omicron variant tin be.

“We’re focusing connected those higher hazard activities, similar classrooms oregon sporting cohorts, different diversion cohorts. We bash our champion astir lunchtime, we cognize that is simply a clip erstwhile students would person masks off,” said Flores. 

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A SCUSD spokesperson told CBS13 that the territory ordered picnic tables, but they person not arrived owed to proviso concatenation issues. Yoga mats are besides disposable for students astatine lunchtime.

As for tents for students to devour extracurricular year-round, permits are required, according to a spokesperson:

“Sites person tents that indispensable beryllium approved by the Division of State Architecture (DSA) for schools which is much challenging than simply purchasing and installing.”

Getting Answers: Paid COVID Sick Leave

The governor’s budget, announced Monday, includes calls for caller authorities to instrumentality supplemental paid sick permission policies considering the existent surge of COVID cases owed to the omicron variant.

Existing sick permission policies are already successful place, according to a spokesperson for the governor’s property office, that let individuals to instrumentality clip disconnected to attraction for household members, including children.

The projected authorities would beryllium akin to the sick permission argumentation that expired past fall, which required businesses with 26 oregon much employees to connection arsenic overmuch arsenic 2 weeks of supplemental paid sick permission to instrumentality attraction of themselves oregon household members.

Approximately 10.9 cardinal at-home COVID-19 trial kits arrived to schoolhouse districts statewide, and SCUSD received their shipment from the connection earlier the extremity of 2021. By end-of-day Tuesday, each counties successful California volition person received the at-home kits they requested.

Those tests, according to a spokesperson for the Governor’s Office, are successful summation to the 2 cardinal tests provided to schools successful aboriginal December anterior to students leaving connected wintertime break.

Getting Answers: Distance Learning

Only nationalist wellness officials tin determine if a schoolhouse oregon schoolhouse territory closes. The waiver that allowed California schools to spell to region learning astatine the tallness of the pandemic expired successful 2021.

SCUSD works intimately with Sacramento County Public Health to found champion practices and wellness and information protocols connected campuses.

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The Serna Center volition beryllium unfastened for COVID investigating connected Monday January 17, a holiday, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. for SCUSD families and students. It volition beryllium staffed by volunteers.