Riverside County schools are officially allowed to fully reopen.

The state gave the greenlight following the county’s Sept. 22 move into California’s “red tier” framework and the obligatory 14-day wait period.

Now the decision shifts to each Individual School District as to what they will do moving forward.

This week, many Riverside County school districts were discussing reopening during public board meetings suggesting guidelines and timelines for doing so this year and/or early in 2021.

The DSUSD proposes a staggered return to in-person learning Oct. 19, with students “in most need of acute care and athletic conditioning.”

Elementary students participating in a hybrid learning model would potentially return Nov. 9, while middle and high school students in the hybrid model would follow on Jan. 04, 2021.

Corona-Norco Unified School District plans to begin welcoming its intermediate, high school and year-round elementary students back into classrooms Oct. 26. Elementary students can return Nov. 9.

Those dates, however, are subject to changes in the county’s tier status. A step back into the “purple tier” would mean countywide school closures unless a state waiver were granted. (Several private schools in the county already obtained waivers.

In the Lake Elsinore Unified School District, safety protocols have been hammered out. On Thursday night LEUSD Superintendent Dr. Doug Kimberly presented an update on the district’s reopening plan. “The draft plan for public review illustrates the complexity of reopening under COVID-19 pandemic conditions,” In addition to student and parent concerns, the LEUSD is also negotiating with labor unions on safety issues for members.

The Temecula Valley Unified School District has tentatively decided to allow elementary schools to reopen after the Thanksgiving break, and secondary schools to begin welcoming students back with the start of the Jan. 5, 2021 semester. The dates are contingent based on changes in the county’s tier status and ongoing negotiations with labor groups.

Some school districts outside of Riverside County have reopened in compliance with the state’s tiered framework, and there is no indication that it’s led to increased COVID-19 spread in the respective communities, according to California’s Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly.

“We have not seen a connection between increased transmission and schools reopening for in-person learning,” Ghaly said during a news briefing Tuesday.

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