Allow California K-12 Public Schools to Implement a Hybrid Learning Model (Mixed Remote and In-Person Learning Based on Family Choice)                         

As the Covid case count surges in California along with the discovery of Omicron and other new variants, the safety of teachers and students, once again, is at increased risk.   

As of 1/8/22, numerous California colleges and universities have elected to return to remote instruction, including such as notable examples as U.C, Berkeley, Stanford University, and half of the California State University’s 23 campuses.  

   
While colleges are going remote, it is shocking to see that public K-12 institutions, including elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools, are not given this option, leaving some of the most vulnerable segments of our population at risk, what with poorly defined protocols and inadequate implementation of safety guidelines.  

   
We therefore call on Governor Gavin Newsom to temporarily allow and fund remote learning at the K-12 level using a hybrid model featured previously. Give families the choice of remote or in-person learning as it suits their needs, rather than try to force a single option onto all families, whose needs are as different as the diverse population of California.  

 
We believe it is irresponsible to force schools to stay open due to political considerations. Many pupils live in homes with immunocompromised relatives or housemates, who are put at increased risk due to the pupil’s day-to-day exposure to potential carriers of the disease.  

 
Thanks to the successful implementation of remote learning back in the 2020-2021 school year, there are now Chromebooks available for most students, and we have access to enough resources to revert back to a hybrid learning model, if families wish to do so.  

   
We believe the choice to pursue remote learning should be granted now. Why wait until thousands get sick when we could actually prevent such suffering? Allowing families who wish to learn from home to do so is the best way to stop the spread of Covid among minors.  

We look forward to a hybrid learning setup which makes it possible for families to elect to learn remotely, as we believe that this arrangement best serves all of California’s diverse families and caters to children’s different learning styles.