The Board of Education of the San Bernardino City Unified School District on Tuesday voted to keep all students in distance learning for the remainder of the current school year, which ends in June 2021.
The governing body of California’s eighth largest school district took action on November 17 after carefully weighing local COVID-19 figures that show the virus is spreading at alarming rates and families living in its attendance boundaries are especially at risk. San Bernardino County is among those in the state that have experienced drastically increasing COVID-19 cases, forcing it to remain in the purple tier. The Board’s decision is consistent with its steadfast commitment to safety for students and employees. This decision will enable District staff to focus greater resources toward strengthening distance learning while also allowing families to better plan.
SBCUSD held a 1 p.m. virtual press conference on November 18 to provide more information about the Board’s decision. A recording of the press conference is available at https://youtu.be/hfz7PwTeAmM.
As part of their decision, in-person accommodations for small groups of students with specifically identified educational needs will be offered when the Board deems it safe to do so. This in-person support is allowable under public health guidance from the state.
This is the second time since the March statewide closure of schools that the SBCUSD Board of Education has put the health and safety of its 47,000 students and close to 8,000 employees at the forefront of its decision to keep schools in distance learning.
Watch a rebroadcast of Tuesday’s Board meeting at the District’s YouTube Channel, https://youtu.be/VD_P_TD_6Ns or a clip of just the distance learning discussion.
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A service of the Communications Department of San Bernardino City Unified School District