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LA, Orange Counties: K-12 Campuses Should Remain Closed For Rest Of This School Year
Signage outside Corona Avenue Elementary School (Chava Sanchez/ LAist)
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The top education officials in both Los Angeles and Orange counties urged school districts to keep their campuses "physically closed" for the remainder of this academic year.
The moves follow guidance from state schools superintendent Tony Thurmond, who also called on schools statewide to cancel in-person instruction for the rest of the school year.
It's up to each of district to decide whether to follow the formal recommendations of their respective county superintendents.
"While not ideal," L.A. County Superintendent of Schools Debra Duardo wrote in a statement, "the distance learning environment is our new reality."
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"Deciding now to keep campuses closed for the remainder of the school year allows our education community to focus on accelerating learning in a remote environment and finding new ways to engage and connect with students."
Orange County superintendent Al Mijares issued a similar statement, urging schools to "channel their efforts toward adopting robust and effective distance learning models."
More than 1.4 million children attend schools in L.A. County. Orange County schools serve around 500,000 kids.
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This story has been updated to include the statement from Orange County officials.
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