Primary schools in San Francisco can and should reopen immediately based on guidelines for counties and regardless of labor agreements with the school district, City Attorney Dennis Herrera said in a letter to the school district’s contracted attorney Thursday.
Herrera informed the school district in the e-mail communication and said that vaccination requirements or other requirements that exceed health prescriptions and delay the reopening of schools, violate the state law and will be challenged in court.
District officials and the union reached a preliminary agreement last week on health and safety requirements needed to reopen schools. The school board is expected to vote Tuesday on the agreement, which will allow schools to reopen in the state’s second most restrictive red level if staff are fully vaccinated. Vaccinations in the less restrictive orange level do not require vaccinations. The San Francisco Department of Public Health is enabling schools to reopen with a waiver in the state’s most limited press level, in which the city is currently located.
The letter is the latest twist in an ongoing battle over the reopening of schools. Supporters say research shows that classrooms with the right protocols can safely welcome children back and that students suffer academically and emotionally. Opponents acknowledge the harm of distance education, but argue that protecting students, their families and school staff is paramount.
In the letter, Herrera argues that the recent preliminary agreement requiring vaccination for teachers and staff before returning to school in the state’s red level is not legal, and indicates that he will do so in a court hearing on March 22. supply.
“Note that any reopening plan that may not offer ‘tuition to the greatest extent possible’ will be illegal,” Herrera said in the letter. In short, it is ‘possible’ to now offer significant amounts of personalized instruction to elementary students and vulnerable students in the press level at the current level of San Francisco’s COVID-19 transfer, without waiting for staff to be fully vaccinated . “
Union and district officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The teachers’ union and district continue to negotiate on the educational aspects of a return to personal learning, including how many hours or days per week each student will be in class.
Herrera’s notice to the district adds to the allegations he has made in a lawsuit against the school district, saying state law requires public schools to be reopened to the maximum extent possible.
The lawsuit also alleges that the district violated the state constitution and equal rights laws by failing to give personal instructions.
Herrera also said in the letter that the health department did not “limit the number of children who may be in a classroom to a specific number.” Although health officials recommend putting 6-foot desks apart, they do not limit the number of students in a classroom, he said.
He also noted that health officials do not “limit the number of days or hours that students and staff can have on campus safely.”
“My goal for you now,” Herrera said, “is to help ensure that any plan that sets up the school district is legally sound, avoids the need for court intervention, and achieves our common goal of re-educating children. . ”
Jill Tucker is a staff writer for the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @jilltucker
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly mentioned to whom the letter was sent.