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

TEMECULA, CA — Temecula 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 TVUSD, Murrieta 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.

"Hence, our start date to return to campus in an elementary hybrid model cannot be determined. Rest assured, however, TVUSD will be ready to re-open as soon as we are allowed to do so," the district posted on its website.

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 TVUSD'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.

"Preliminary information we have indicates that current Temecula Valley USD school operations are not impacted by the new stay-at-home order issued today by the California Governor," the TVUSD reported. "While we are not yet permitted to reopen to in-person learning for all students, in-person cohorts and athletic conditioning/co-curricular activities currently operating at schools may remain open during the stay-at-home order."

The district currently has small-specialized groups of students allowed on campus by the state and county. These groups include special education students, students with no connectivity or Wi-Fi access, English Learners, homeless and foster youth.

There are 450 TVUSD students enrolled in the district's special education learning centers and 242 students enrolled in support hubs, according to the district.

The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) has put on hold full practice and competition start dates, which means games and practices for TVUSD 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, TVUSD athletes and students in co-curricular such as color guard, band, or JROTC may continue conditioning and/or individual training until further notice," the district said.

"We know how important is it to have students return to school and it continues to be a primary goal," the TVUSD reported. "We continue to make preparations for the return to in-person learning. Though we have not been provided an official re-opening date yet, we know that it will be no sooner than January 11th. Rest assured, as soon as we are permitted, we will be ready."