This is absolutely necessary. The complete shut down of our schools has been a massive disservice to children and families. Schools are in service of their communities, and in spite of its own shutdowns Europe has prioritized schools above all else.

California has repeatedly failed its families. People here claim to "believe science" yet they ignore any scientific evidence that doesn't fit their agenda. Schools can and should reopen safely and there is no excuse for not doing it.

Looks like an exercise in wishful thinking. Does anyone really think that we will ever again see non-purple levels of contagion before the very end of the pandemic? The next time we get back down that low won't be the same as the previous time, which really didn't last very long at all. Opening schools then would have just meant that they needed to close up again, and that's a fact. Science matters but look at the numbers. The rate of infection in our county right now is 57 new cases per day per 100K people. To get out of Widespread, we need to be below 7. When first we arrive there, there will surely be some reversals back above for a while. Assuming that after 2 weeks it will hold is folly--ought to be more like 4 weeks.

Then consider that in our county, there is a wide variation in density of cases between school districts. The measures are poor. In Europe they test these kids at school regularly, so they can tell if there are new infections. The means to do that are scarce in California and spotty between different districts. The state legislators would do well to say that weekly testing of each student has to be available before ANY district opens so long as the daily rate of new infections in a county is above 1 per 100K residents. They aren't really providing the districts the resources needed to safely reopen, so legislating that they do it is abusive.

What we don't want to do is force a risky reopening of schools such that it delays the progress towards eradicating the new infections. Make regular student testing (3 times a week each) available to any school district that reopens. It has to be done!

The intensity and severity of this crisis has put so much distress on everything. Our traditional way of life has been so altered that the levels of anxiety and insecurity have reached beyond the point of toxicity.

Yes, the impact on children is just as severe as it is on us adults. Remember the impact that Polio had on the children back then. We unfortunately are undergoing a major event that is still ongoing. There WILL be long term scars on all of us.

We have to simply accept that, and get ourselves into the path of long term recovery ONCE we have this situation in REAL control. Taking any actions now that increase risks is like playing Russian roulette at this time. Please don't pick up the gun spin the chamber and pull the trigger on the Teachers, Staff and Students?

We have tools to use in the short term, we should use them. If you can, use this time to get to know your children, make them feel safe, and work with them with the variety of resources to keep them educated. In fact, to borrow one train of thought, the "family values" of family cooperation at this time is a great result if you work on it, right?