According to a report from the LA Times, Los Angeles County schools will not open in the fall due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The newspaper reports that School Superintendent Austin Beutner announced the decision on Monday.
“Let me be crystal clear,” Beutner said in an interview with The Times. “We all know the best place for students to learn is in a school setting.” But, he said, “We’re going in the wrong direction. And as much as we want to be back at schools and have students back at schools — can’t do it until it’s safe and appropriate.”
President Donald Trump recently threatened to withhold federal money if schools don’t reopen in the fall. He said the guidelines that his own federal health officials have created for schools to reopen are impractical and expensive.
Trump isn't saying what funds would be cut off or what authority he had to make the move. Taking to Twitter to voice his frustration, Trump argues that countries including Germany, Denmark and Norway have reopened schools “with no problems.”
Dr. Robert Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, insisted Thursday that his agency would not be issuing new guidelines for reopening schools. Instead, Redfield said the CDC would be issuing additional resources that will assist schools as they attempt to reopen in the fall.
