Non-essential business such as restaurants, bars, and card clubs in our county have reopened, but our local schools are not allowed to open according to the Governor's "Blueprint for a Safer Economy", CDPH and LA County Public Health guidelines, despite the fact our school district is essentially COVID-free.  I know I am not the only teenager who feels I am being deprived of education, friendships, and sports during this time. No matter how much time we spend on Zoom, it is not the same as having in-person interactions.

I believe this situation can be fixed in CA if we would 1) designate schools as "essential services", and 2) and change reopening guidelines based on LOCAL conditions and safety practices & policies, instead of being based on the entire LA county or "Local Health Jurisdiction."

It would be crazy to try to set and enforce a single speed limit on all of Los Angeles County (4,083 square miles and 10 million people) based on the worst road conditions found in the county. A policy that mandates schools and businesses to be shut down for over 200 different cities and unincorporated areas based on conditions in metropolitan LA is no better.

We need some guidance from our government so we can "open up." I am confident that we can make this work. Thank you for your leadership during these challenging times.