Most LA schools still have some steps to follow before reopening
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Schools and districts still have some steps to take before they can reopen, if they want to.
The threshold for letting elementary schools reopen is five days of new COVID-19 cases of 25 or fewer per 100,000 people living in the county.
But once reaching that point - which Los Angeles has - the only schools that can start to reopen are those which have already obtained waivers or submitted COVID-19 safety plans in advance.
There are extensive safety requirements that schools must follow as part of those safety plans, including social distancing, masking requirements, sufficient ventilation and testing programs.
The Los Angeles school board voted unanimously Tuesday to replace school police officers on campuses with staff trained in de-escalation strategies and conflict resolution and approve a $36.5 million Black Student Achievement Plan.
The Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education Tuesday voted to cut 133 positions from the L.A. School Police Department, ban the use of pepper spray on students and divert $25 million in funding cut from the department to better support Black students.
The campaign to reopen schools in the US reached its next phase Monday night, when Los Angeles County officials declared that the second-largest school district in the country has been “cleared” to reopen.