Riverside County’s adjusted case rate for new COVID-19 cases dropped below a threshold that will allow transitional kindergarten through sixth-grade education to reopen in accordance with the state’s framework.
Four Riverside County school districts, Murrieta Valley Unified School District, Corona-Norco Unified School District, Palo Verde Valley Unified School District, and Desert Sands Unified School District, already have safety-plan approvals from the county and state approval is anticipated.
Murrieta Valley Unified School District said it’s scheduled to welcome TK-5 students back to campus in a hybrid in-person schedule on Tuesday, March 16.
“The pandemic has had a major impact on education, like everything else, and as case rates currently continue to decline we can start getting more kids back in class,” said Dr. Cameron Kaiser, Riverside County’s public health officer. “But this can’t be without safety precautions or monitoring. Our districts and schools are committed to operating safely, and so am I.”
A county schools team, including Dr. Kaiser, continues to review other districts’ safety plans expeditiously along with state review. Schools previously open for transitional kindergarten through sixth-grade education under the earlier waivers process remain in operation, as do those schools that opened for all grade levels during the county’s brief period in the state’s Red Tier framework, Kaiser said.
