Santa Monica Schools Return In Person Amid Massive Outbreak

SANTA MONICA, CA — Santa Monica students will return to school in person this week amid a massive spike in COVID-19 in Santa Monica and across the country.

Elementary school students returned to school Monday and secondary students will return Tuesday. Santa Monica Alternative School House students will also return Tuesday.

Parents and staff are split about how the district should handle a return to school amid a massive COVID-19 outbreak in the country, superintendent Ben Drati said in an email to the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District community Sunday.

See Also: COVID-19 Testing Available For Santa Monica Students

Santa Monica had 10,112 confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of Sunday, up nearly 1,500 from the week before, according to the Los Angeles Department of Public Health. Malibu had 1,038 cases as of Sunday, over 100 more cases than just a week before.

The SMMUSD student body is largely vaccinated; 88 percent of students age 12-18 and 46.8 percent of students age 5-11 were vaccinated as of Monday.

The district has updated safety measures such as improving air systems in schools and increased sanitation procedures. The district will also require face masks indoors and outdoors on school properties, Drati said.

The district will continue regularly testing students on campus and encouraged students and staff to get tested before returning to school this week.

There is no specific number of cases that would prompt school closures, Drati said. Public health advices districts to use remote learning as a "last resort" after all other resources have been exhausted. Distance learning would be considered with the Los Angeles County Office of Education should a major outbreak occur or if the school struggles to maintain staffing.

"We understand this is a time of uncertainty and concern. We will work through this together to keep our students, families, and staff safe," Drati said in his email.

Students and staff will not be penalized for missing school or work due to a possible COVID-19 exposure or symptoms, Drati said in an email Thursday. Parents can keep their students out of school until testing results from the first week of school are available, Drati said.

The district will follow the county's quarantine protocol, which requires a five day quarantine if the person tests negative test on or after day five, or a 10 day quarantine with no testing and no symptoms on day 10.

The district is working on an online COVID-19 dashboard to track cases. In the meantime, you can track cases using the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health website.