Waiver option suspended, closing schools' path to reopening

County Health Director Kim Saruwatari addresses the Board of Supervisors earlier this week.

By Doug Spoon, Editor

With Riverside County already in the state’s most restricted COVID-19 tier and case rates continuing to rise, county officials have suspended the waiver process for elementary school districts desiring to reopen during the pandemic.

Essentially, this means there will be no return to in-person instruction in the near future.

Dr. Jennifer Root, new superintendent of Menifee Union School District, confirmed that she received the announcement in an email sent today to all county school districts from the Riverside County Emergency Management Services Agency. It stated, in part:

“… Our case prevalence data and positivity rates continue to trend upward. At this time, school waivers are officially suspended as we are now clearly above the state recommended threshold and the trend indicates further increase to come.”

Previously, districts wishing to return to in-person instruction in a hybrid format were allowed to apply for a waiver, which would be considered by county health officials based on the latest COVID-19 data and the district’s plan for a safe return. According to the County Health Department website, 32 private schools previously were approved for waivers.

Only one public school district applied, however. The Corona-Norco Unified School District was approved Nov. 3 to reopen for K-6 in-person instruction. According to today’s announcement, “Schools which are open, either under a waiver or during the brief period that permitted them to do so during the red tier, may remain open. Schools that have received a waiver but have not yet reopened may still do so under the terms of the waiver.”

All other districts – including virtually all of Riverside County’s public school districts – must remain in distance learning for the foreseeable future.

“We did not apply for a waiver because it only allowed us to go into the hybrid level,” Root said today. “Our survey of the community showed that the majority of our families were in favor of staying in total distance learning until they were able to return to traditional learning.

“We are still researching different hybrid models to see what options there might be, but today’s email now suspends all waivers for the time being.”

In a report this week to the County Board of Supervisors, County Public Health Director Kim Saruwatari said that Riverside County’s adjusted COVID-19 case rate has risen to 14 per 1,000 residents. That is twice the rate at which counties are moved into the purple – or highest restricted – tier.

In addition, the county’s median rate of 232.9 people tested per 1,000 it well below the state’s requirement of 272.41 per 1,000. And the number of coronavirus patients hospitalized in Riverside County is as its highest point since Aug. 18, with 286 currently hospitalized.

“We are definitely trending in the wrong direction,” Saruwatari said.

The situation is no different for high school districts, which weren’t eligible to apply for a waiver in the first place.

“Schools will remain in full distance learning through the end of the first semester, which ends on Dec. 17,” said Candace Reines, deputy superintendent of the Perris Union High School District, which includes Paloma Valley and Heritage high schools.

No one knows how long distance learning may continue after that for schools in the county – or the entire nation, for that matter. According to an Associated Press report, many large school districts around the nation that had reopened for in-person instruction are returning to distance learning because of rising COVID-19 numbers.

“We hear parents’ concerns and we understand everybody has the belief that we want children back in school when it’s safe,” Root said. “When parents are still frustrated and upset, we do our best to find out what they are most frustrated with and try to help. If they are having trouble with a strong internet signal or with their student engaging remotely, we use our resources to reach out to them.

“Our teachers have definitely risen to the challenge. Online teaching is new to all of them, regardless of their experience. They are working long, hard hours to create engagement with the students.”