Murrieta Valley USD's Waiver To Reopen K-6 Classrooms In Limbo

MURRIETA, CA — Murrieta Valley Unified School District will need to wait a while longer before it knows whether a waiver to reopen in-person elementary school instruction gets approved.

The district submitted the waiver to the county on Nov. 16, district officials said, within days of Riverside County Department of Public Health suspending the ability of schools and districts to apply for reopening of in-person instruction for grades K-6.

School districts such as MVUSD, Temecula Valley USD and Riverside USD are reporting that officials were notified by county health in mid-November that the waiver program was put on hold due to the county's increasing coronavirus case rates.

"... our elementary waiver is on hold until County Public Health officials determine case rates are at acceptable levels. Hence, our start date to return to campus under an elementary hybrid in-person instruction model is yet to be determined," the district's administrative team wrote in a letter Thursday to MVUSD families.

An order issued Thursday by Gov. Gavin Newsom that will likely see more restrictions implemented across the region within coming days does not appear to immediately impact the MVUSD's plans for reopening, according to the district.

Schools that have already been granted a waiver to reopen K-6 in-person classrooms can continue operating, the governor said Thursday.

"Current Murrieta Valley USD school operations are not impacted by a regional stay-at-home order. Preschool, childcare, in-person cohorts and athletic conditioning/co-curricular activities operating at schools may remain open during the regional stay-at-home order," the district said.

There are a total of 106 small-specialized groups of students on MVUSD campuses. These groups include special education students, students with no connectivity or Wi-Fi access, and English Learners. As of Thursday, the groups expanded to include students in CTE pathways and students in need of academic interventions.

The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) has put on hold full practice and competition start dates, which means games and practices for MVUSD student athletes that were scheduled to begin in December are now postponed until further guidance is issued, which is expected in January.

"Regardless of CIF’s action, MVUSD athletes and students in co-curriculars such as color guard, band, or JROTC may continue conditioning and/or individual training until further notice," the district said.

The district has established communication timelines to keep MVUSD families updated on the status of in-person instruction. Updates will be emailed and posted on the district's website on Dec. 11 and again on Jan. 8.