Will other Stanislaus districts follow Modesto’s lead? Heed science, not politics, one says
Among school districts in Stanislaus County, it looks like Modesto City Schools may be going it alone in pushing the state for local control over some COVID-19 safety measures.
The district’s trustees Monday night approved sending a letter to California health officials asking the state to “grant local school districts the authority to develop and deploy COVID facial covering protocols in conjunction with county health officials. Rather than issuing blanket statewide mandates, the state should give districts the power to create COVID plans “tailored to their regions and local conditions,” the letter states.
On Tuesday, the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 to send a letter to the state in support of the Modesto City Schools board position.
Also Tuesday, The Bee sent an email to the other school districts in Stanislaus County, asking if any were following Modesto City’s lead in seeking local control. As of Thursday, we’d heard back from a handful, including a superintendent who said health and education leaders should stay in their respective lanes.
Turlock Unified’s response doesn’t indicate the district is considering sending a letter to the state, but does suggest it’s looking at the pros and cons of toeing the line of state guidance.
“At our August 3rd Board Meeting, our legal counsel will be sharing current information related to liability and responsibilities of school districts to adhere to State guidance,” district spokeswoman Marie Russell said.
Feds, state are on same page
She noted that the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has aligned more closely to current California Department of Public Health guidance for K-12 schools and said Turlock Unified School District “will continue to monitor for updates and work with the Stanislaus County Health Services Agency to ensure students and staff remain safe and healthy as we return to full, in-person instruction on August 11.”
Patterson Joint Unified School District Superintendent Philip Alfano, too, noted updated CDC guidelines, which include “universal indoor masking for all teachers, staff, students, and visitors to K-12 schools, regardless of vaccination status.”
With state and national health policy now aligned, policies should be in sync locally as well, the superintendent said. “This is one public policy issue that should be driven by scientific data, not by the direction political winds happen to be blowing locally,” Alfano said in an email. “We continue to follow the science in Patterson. Masking indoors, when social distancing can’t be consistently achieved, is the most effective way to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 among unvaccinated individuals. ...
“Approximately 60% of our students are under the age of 12 and not eligible to receive the vaccine. I hope we can reach the point where masking is no longer necessary in our schools, but with case rates rising again, wearing face coverings inside classrooms seems to be a sensible strategy to keep our schools open and prevent COVID-19 spreading.”
Ceres Unified School District does not plan to send a letter to the state requesting local authority on COVID-19 safety protocols, spokeswoman Beth Parker Jimenez said. Guidance from the Stanislaus County Health Services Agency is consistent with that from state public health officials on indoor masking and will continue to be followed by the district, she said.
‘Leaders need to stay in their lane’
Waterford Unified School District Superintendent Don Davis told The Bee he doesn’t see what a letter will accomplish. “This is a public health issue,” he said in an email. “Local school districts are charged with educating and developing young people, not with making policy related to public health. This is a time when leaders need to stay in their lane.”
If state public health officials direct schools to require masking indoors, so be it, he said.
When it comes to running schools, districts are seeing a drastic departure from the precepts of local control, Davis said. “One prime example of legislative overreach is how districts are to administer independent study,” his email to The Bee said. “The state is mandating (independent study) as an option for families, and then prescribing how to operate the program at the local level.
“Let educators educate, legislatures legislate, and health and medical experts develop the public health guidelines. And when they overlap, defer to educators for instructional programming, defer to legislators for prioritizing state resources, and defer to public health officials for public health matters.”
This story was originally published August 1, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
