OCDE Education in the News

Tuesday, November 16, 2021

OCDE NEWSROOM

OCDE seeks proposals for three-year grant targeting truancies

The Orange County Department of Education is inviting community-based organizations to submit their best proposals for reducing truancy as part of a three-year grant funding opportunity. Applications are due by 5 p.m. on Nov. 30 for the Truancy Response Program Grant, which seeks to boost attendance by re-engaging chronically absent students and families with their school communities. The winning proposal — or proposals — will receive up to $400,000 through the end of 2024, with a possible two-year extension based on measurable outcomes.

https://newsroom.ocde.us/ocde-seeks-proposals-for-three-year-grant-targeting-truancies/

ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

School board in Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified will consider ban on critical race theory

Members of the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified school board will consider a resolution Tuesday to prevent critical race theory from being taught anywhere in the district. The language of the proposal would not allow teachers to “include CRT in any course offerings” and serve as the board’s official position on the concept that has roused debate at schools in the region and nationally. A concept developed by legal scholars that examines racism as systemic in America’s institutions, critical race theory is typically taught at the graduate level and to some law students, not in K-12 schools. In the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District, curriculum on the theory doesn’t exist and schools aren’t teaching it, spokeswoman Alyssa Griffiths said.

https://www.ocregister.com/2021/11/15/school-board-in-placentia-yorba-linda-unified-will-consider-ban-on-critical-race-theory/

VOICE OF OC

Placentia-Yorba Linda School District Considers Banning Critical Race Theory

The Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School Board might ban critical race theory tonight — amid concerns from some parents who argue the trustees don’t know what the theory is, while others support a ban. The board members’ upcoming Tuesday vote on the theory comes as school districts throughout Orange County have been debating implementing ethnic studies for high schoolers, while some critics say the class is a guise for critical race theory. Yet school district officials across the county say the college-level theory isn’t being taught in elementary and high schools, and is separate from ethnic studies.

https://voiceofoc.org/2021/11/placentia-yorba-linda-school-district-considers-banning-critical-race-theory/

SACRAMENTO BEE

California students can get vaccinated. When will the state let them take off their masks?

California schools next month will wrap up their fourth semester amid the coronavirus pandemic. Children ages 5 to 11 soon will have to get vaccines to attend.

https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article255839706.html#storylink=cpy

INLAND VALLEY DAILY BULLETIN

Southern California families participate in school walkouts to protest vaccine mandates

In a repeat of last month’s statewide-coordinated walkouts, parents throughout Southern California kept their children home from school on Monday, Nov. 15, to protest COVID-19 vaccination mandates. Hundreds of people gathered outside the state Capitol — a smaller gathering than a similar walkout last month — according to one media report, while other events were held in Los Angeles, Riverside and Orange counties.

https://www.dailybulletin.com/2021/11/15/southern-california-families-participate-in-school-walkouts-to-protest-vaccine-mandates/

EDSOURCE

A Bay Area school district's plan to reduce violence through nonviolent means

West Contra Costa Unified is looking at the sources of conflict and misbehavior on campus, then teaching students the social and emotional skills they may need to avoid violence. West Contra Costa Unified is taking a targeted approach to stop fights and bullying and to reduce the number of weapons on campus.

https://edsource.org/2021/a-bay-area-school-districts-plan-to-reduce-violence-through-non-violent-means/663699

KPBS

COVID-19 vaccinations continue on the road as some parents keep protesting

San Diego Unified School District’s vaccination van continued on the road Monday with a stop at Morse High School. According to district officials, more than 600 children and adults have gotten COVID-19 shots since last Friday onboard the mobile unit operated through UC San Diego Health. The vaccination van started traveling around the district last Wednesday, finishing the week on Friday with a stop at the San Diego Unified Education Center in University Heights. There were so many parents and children in line for shots there, health workers kept the van in operation two hours longer than the original 5 p.m. closing time.

https://www.kpbs.org/news/health/2021/11/15/covid-19-vaccinations-continue-on-the-road-as-some-parents-keep-protesting

NPR

Sacramento City Unified School District to hold webinar about student and staff vaccine requirements

Sacramento City Unified School District will be holding a COVID-19 Vaccine Safety and SCUSD Reporting Process Town Hall Webinar on Tuesday, Nov. 16 at 6 p.m. Community members who join the webinar can ask questions about the COVID-19 vaccine available for 5- to 11-year-old children, along with the district’s new vaccination requirement for students and staff. UC Davis Pediatric Infectious Disease Specialist Dr. Dean Blumberg will be joined by SCUSD Student Health & Support Services Director Victoria Flores on the webinar panel.

https://www.capradio.org/articles/2021/11/15/california-coronavirus-updates-november-2021/#scusdwebinar

OTHER NEWS OUTLETS

California aims to come from behind in making sure children learn to read, but some see new push as political

It’s been more than a decade since California’s education system placed a strong emphasis on making sure educators know how to teach children to read. Reading experts and parent advocates say a lack of consistent attention to the issue since then shows.

http://laschoolreport.com/california-aims-to-come-from-behind-in-making-sure-children-learn-to-read-but-some-see-new-push-as-political/

Vaccination deadline arrives for LAUSD workers

Monday is the deadline for Los Angeles Unified School District workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19, with those who fail to meet the requirement facing possible termination. It was not immediately known how many LAUSD employees have not yet complied with the mandate. An LAUSD representative said data was still being compiled. In October, however, the district reported that 99% of district administrators and 99% of classroom teachers had loaded their vaccination status into the district's Daily Pass reporting system, along with 97% of classified supervisors, such as administrative assistants, plant managers and cafeteria managers, and 97% of all district employees.

https://spectrumnews1.com/ca/orange-county/education/2021/11/15/deadline-at-hand-for-lausd-workers-to-be-vaccinated-against-covid

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