The tension between local control and state authority in a pandemic

With Gov. Gavin Newsom’s guidance for reopening schools in the wings, superintendents are laboring to figure out how schools can adapt to a new regimen with masks, social distancing, temperature checks and hybrid schedules of school one day, distance learning the next.
This week, we speak with Alex Cherniss, superintendent of Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified. He crafted a letter, signed by 10 other superintendents in Los Angeles County, questioning the wisdom of coronavirus precautions that may make it impractical and prohibitively expensive to open and stay open this fall.
We discuss how California’s system of local control meshes with physicians’ guidance for health and safety restrictions for a pandemic that knows no local boundaries.
We also speak with Heather Hough, executive director of PACE, who makes the case that the wide variations in the quality of distance learning among districts during school closures show why the state must take a stronger role in setting performance expectations.
For background to this podcast, check out the following from EdSource:
Schools should encourage but not require students to wear face covering, draft guidance says
Classes outside, face coverings and one-way hallways: How Los Angeles schools may reopen
California schools can’t reopen safely without more federal dollars, state schools chief says
Understanding, Measuring, and Addressing Student Learning Needs During COVID-19 Recovery by Heather Hough, PACE
To read more about and register for EdSource’s June 2 and June 3 webinars on Distance Learning 2.0
June 2, 1 p.m. – Pajaro Valley Unified looks ahead, with Superintendent Michelle Rodriguez
June 3, 1 p.m. – Anaheim Union High School District envisions education in a post-pandemic world