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Elementary schools in San Francisco can and should reopen immediately based on county health guidelines and regardless of labor agreements with the school district, city attorney Dennis Herrera said Thursday in a letter to attorney under school district contract.
Herrera warned the school district in the email communication, saying requests for immunizations or other requirements that exceed health regulations and delay the reopening of schools violate state law and will be challenged in court.
District officials and the union reached a tentative agreement last week on the health and safety requirements needed to reopen schools. The school board is expected to vote on the deal on Tuesday, which would allow schools to reopen in the state’s most restrictive second red tier if staff are fully vaccinated. A return to the less restrictive orange level would not require vaccination. The San Francisco Department of Public Health is allowing schools to reopen with a waiver in the most restrictive purple level in the state, in which the city is currently located.
The letter is the latest twist in an ongoing fight to reopen schools. Proponents say research shows that with the right protocols, classrooms can accommodate children safely, and students suffer academically and emotionally. Opponents recognize the harms of distance learning, but argue that protecting students, their families and school staff from the virus is paramount.
In the letter, Herrera argues that the recent tentative agreement that requires the vaccination of teachers and staff before a return to school in the state’s red level is not legal, and says he will support it. during a court hearing on March 22.
“Be aware that any plan to reopen that does not offer in-person instruction ‘to the greatest extent possible” would be illegal, “Herrera said in the letter. “In short, it is ‘possible’ to offer significant amounts of in-person instruction now to elementary and vulnerable students from the purple level to the current level of COVID-19 transmission in San Francisco, without waiting for staff is fully vaccinated.
Union and district officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The teachers’ union and district continue to negotiate the educational aspects of a return to in-person learning, including the number of hours or days per week each student will be in class.
Herrera’s notification to the district comes in addition to allegations he has made in a lawsuit against the school district, saying state law requires the reopening of public schools where possible.
The lawsuit also alleges that the district violates the state’s constitution and equal rights laws by failing to provide in-person instruction.
Herrera also said in the letter that the health department does not limit “the number of children who can be in a class to a specific number”. Although health officials recommend spacing desks 6 feet apart, they are not limiting the number of students in a classroom, he said.
He also noted that health officials do not “limit the number of days or hours students and staff can safely spend on campus.”
“My goal in contacting you now,” said Herrera, “is to help ensure that any plan put in place by the school district is legally valid, avoids the need for judicial intervention, and achieves our common goal of reinstating. children. instruction to a person. “
Jill Tucker is a writer for the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @jilltucker
Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated to whom the letter was sent.
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