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“Everything Everywhere All At Once” is the name of a 2022 film, but it could also describe the cascade of changes confronting California schools as they welcome students back to campus after more than two years of pandemic-disrupted education.
Although many COVID restrictions have loosened — most schools have ended mandatory testing programs, made face masks optional and aligned with the state in delaying enforcement of student coronavirus vaccine mandates until July 1, 2023 at the earliest — districts are contending with plenty of other new policies. On top of that, they’re taking precautions against the low risk of monkeypox transmission on campus and helping kids catch up on delayed health screenings and immunizations.
One of the biggest shifts: a state law that went into effect July 1 requiring middle schools to start no earlier than 8 a.m. and high schools no earlier than 8:30 a.m, though campuses can also offer “zero period” classes earlier in the morning.
Supporters of the first-in-the-nation policy, which Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law in 2019, cite what they say is “overwhelming research” showing that later school start times result in kids sleeping more, which improves their health and academic performance.
But some educators have warned that delaying school start times could have unintended consequences — a point corroborated by dispatches from districts complying with the law for the first time. Hurdles include:
But others see promise in delaying school start times. Garden Grove Unified School District, for example, is expanding early morning programming to include free tutoring and sessions on art, fitness and mindfulness.
Among the other massive shifts in California’s public education system:
The coronavirus bottom line: As of Thursday, California had 10,104,761 confirmed cases (+0.3% from previous day) and 93,378 deaths (+0.2% from previous day), according to state data now updated just twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays. CalMatters is also tracking coronavirus hospitalizations by county.
California has administered 79,191,867 vaccine doses, and 71.8% of eligible Californians are fully vaccinated.
Today, the federal government is set to provide updates on high-intensity negotiations between California and six other Western states to reach an agreement for massively slashing the amount of water they pull from the increasingly parched Colorado River. So far, a deal has yet to materialize. “Despite the obvious urgency of the situation, the last sixty-two days produced exactly nothing in terms of meaningful collective action to help forestall the looming crisis,” John Entsminger, the general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, wrote in a Monday letter to federal officials.
As tensions mount and possible legal battles loom, many water managers are seeking major cuts from California — which receives more than a third of the Colorado River’s natural flow, far more than any other state, CalMatters’ Rachel Becker reports. Much of that water goes to the Imperial Irrigation District, which supplies nearly 475,000 acres of farmland and some communities in southeastern California. Most of the remaining water goes to the giant Metropolitan Water District, which supplies 19 million people and has already implemented steep cuts for its customers who rely on water from another key source, the desiccated State Water Project. (Separately, the Metropolitan Water District is suspending outdoor watering on Sept. 4-20 for more than 4 million residents to make emergency repairs to a leaking pipeline.)
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón will not face a recall election after supporters of the effort to oust the progressive prosecutor from office failed to collect enough valid signatures for the second time in as many years, county elections officials said Monday. Although recall supporters turned in nearly 716,000 signatures, just more than 520,000 of them were found to be valid — far fewer than the nearly 567,000 required to qualify the election for the ballot, officials said. They found that nearly 90,000 of the signatures came from people who weren’t registered voters and close to another 44,000 people signed the petitions twice.
The scuttled recall attempt suggests that criminal justice reform is not on its way out the door in California, despite increased voter concerns over crime and the successful June recall of San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin, another controversial progressive prosecutor. And it could have implications for the November general election: The races for Los Angeles mayor and California attorney general feature showdowns between candidates with a more traditional law-and-order approach and a more progressive tack.
With just a few weeks left before the end of the legislative session, advocacy groups are ramping up their requests for action from Newsom — who signed a slim stack of bills Monday — and state lawmakers. A few key examples:
CalMatters columnist Dan Walters: Two lawsuits continue California’s decades-long battle over the ability of state and local governments to impose taxes.
Transparency is key to pay equity for contract workers: It’s time for California to close the loopholes that shield a $35 billion staffing industry from the same rules and regulations that every other private company has to follow, argues Gretchen Newsom, a member of the California Employment Training Panel.
California state agencies free to delete emails after legislators kill retention bill. // Sacramento Bee
His website skewers Stockton politicians and agencies. Then one gave him a cushy job. // Los Angeles Times
Santa Clara County Health Officer to be deposed this week in COVID-related legal battle. // Mercury News
Chicken Ranch Tribe wins legal case against Newsom. // My Mother Lode
Brooke Jenkins defends nonprofit work tied to Boudin recall campaign. // San Francisco Chronicle
Editorial: California bans the sale of shoes made from dead kangaroos. It’s the law, so enforce it. // Los Angeles Times
California’s pork production law is about much more than pigs, supporters tell U.S. Supreme Court. // San Francisco Chronicle
LulaRoe lawsuit: California plaintiffs allege pyramid scheme. // Sacramento Bee
Petition filed against L.A. city minimum wage hike for health care workers. // Daily News
Lagunda Honda nursing home closure pushed back by two months. // San Francisco Standard
California has taken a slow approach to dyslexia. A lot of families have lost patience. // LAist
California rents spiking — and not only where you’d expect. // Los Angeles Times
Bay Area homeowners are now mostly single women, outpacing men. // San Francisco Chronicle
The summer of NIMBY in Silicon Valley’s poshest town. // New York Times
Two more California Starbucks go on strike, joining Santa Cruz workers at the picket line. // Los Angeles Times
Netflix puts an entire Bay Area campus up for sublease. // SFGATE
SoulCycle is closing 5 California locations. // CNN
San Francisco-based meditation app Calm lays off 20% of staff. // Wall Street Journal
L.A. program that helps pay seniors’ cab fare in jeopardy. // Los Angeles Times
Legionnaires’ disease: One California couple’s near-death battle. // San Francisco Chronicle
Hayward man arrested on suspicion of burning man to death, then released, now charged with raping woman. // Mercury News
Hate crimes rising at record rate in Los Angeles. // Crosstown
How California could force Tesla to drop the name ‘full self-driving.’ // CNN
Infrared video shows widespread oil and gas leaks in Los Angeles. // Capital & Main
California seeks more time to overhaul rooftop solar subsidy. // Bloomberg
In the ashes of a devastating Sierra fire, a flower farm blooms. // Los Angeles Times
Unions want higher pay on California forestry work. Here’s why rural counties are worried. // Sacramento Bee
California cows are leaving the state, and that won’t help global warming. // Riverside Press Enterprise
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