LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The teachers union is joining Clark County school district staff in calling for a distance learning only plan to start the 2020-2021 school year for Las Vegas area students.
In a statement sent to the media on Tuesday, Clark County Education Association (CCEA) said the union's position on reopening schools is, in part, "we should implement a distance learning model and not have the schools reopen until it is safe to do so."
WATCH: School board to discuss reopening schools in Clark County at 4 p.m.
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Just yesterday the Clark County School District said CCSD staff will make an online-only recommendation during the Board of School Trustees meeting tonight.
The Clark County School Board of Trustees meeting is scheduled for 4 p.m. Watch it live here once it begins.
Read the full statement from the CCEA on the reopening of Clark County schools below:
CCEA’s Position Regarding the CCSD Reopening
We understand that decisions regarding the reopening of the school district and the health and safety of staff and students are extremely difficult, not easy, nor will please everyone. CCEA has been in frequent contact with the Superintendent on this issue and we are committed to working through this with CCSD.
Accordingly, CCEA’s position regarding the reopening of the School District is that we should implement a distance learning model and not have the schools reopen until it is safe to do so. We took a recent survey of educators and with over 11,000 participating 74% indicated they did not want the schools to open but wanted a distance learning model.
We want to make clear that CCEA does not support opening the schools at this moment given the escalation of COVID-19. If there is any plan to reopen schools, then our position is that it should be by choice for educators and choice for parents if they feel it is safe to return.
Furthermore, our position is that a comprehensive safety program that has testing, ongoing testing, quarantine measures, contact tracing, precautions for those with high risk health factors, protective equipment and a robust sanitation and health system in place for every school, classroom, campus, buses, etc. This needs to be in place before any employees are returned to school buildings. CCEA has been part of a task force that has been created that developed a safety, testing, and screening program that has been presented to the Governor’s COVID-19 Response team where funding from the CARES ACT is available to implement it. Governor Sisolak can make this happen by releasing funds to implement it.
Clark County Education Association is the largest teachers union in Nevada and represents over 18,000 licensed professionals in CCSD.
