The purpose of this petition is to regain our rights to choose, as parents and tax payers in Menifee, CA, to send our children to school utilizing the traditional in person classroom setting.

 According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, “We recognize that children learn best when physically present in the classroom. But children get much more than academics at school. They also learn social and emotional skills at school, get healthy meals and exercise, mental health support and other services that cannot be easily replicated online…”.  Additionally, the current AAP recommendation for screen time per day is limited to 1 hour or less.  Virtual learning would far exceed this medical recommendation. 

 We, as parents, whether working from home or outside of the home are not trained, or educated, in the way that teachers are, and cannot provide the quality of instruction and education that the classroom setting does.  It is truly detrimental to the children's education experience and will set them back academically, emotionally, and mentally for the coming years.

We strongly feel that the decision to utilize remote virtual learning as the only option is a one size fits all approach in which only one viewpoint is accommodated.  It simply works for only those who want it this way.  However, many others do not want virtual learning for their children due to the AAP's recommendation and the associated negative impacts to the childrens' health and well-being.  For the reasons stated above, we, the Parents, petition to regain our choice of face to face learning for the 2020-2021 school year.