January 19, 2021
Governor Gavin Newsom
1303 10th Street, Suite 1173
Sacramento, CA 95814
Subject: Finding success in the "Safe Schools for All" plan for school reopening
Dear Governor Newsom:
On behalf of the statewide education organizations representing school
administrators, county superintendents, school board members and school business
officials, we write to express our appreciation for your efforts to prioritize in-person
instruction in your proposed "Safe Schools for All" plan. Like you, we recognize that
in-person instruction is the most effective way to educate students and ensure they
receive a quality education.
The purpose of our letter is to lay out a path that can help local educational agencies
(LEAs) to succeed under this proposal. For the Safe Schools for All plan to effectively
support LEAs, the plan's testing requirements must be attainable for school districts,
the proposed funding inequities must be remedied, schools currently open for in-
person instruction must be protected and collective bargaining must be addressed.
Without these changes, we question the efficacy and merits of such an immense
Proposition 98 investment.
To begin, we applaud the plan's proposal for a proactive state role in the school
reopening process. This is an important step in supporting our local efforts to address
the learning loss and social-emotional impacts of this pandemic on students. The plan
lays out critical components that we believe will help schools return to in-person
instruction.
• Providing funding to support in-person instruction;
• Focusing on equity by targeting support for California's neediest students;
• Creating a cross-agency team to ensure consistency among local health
jurisdictions as they interpret and apply state health guidelines;
