Deliberating the best way to configure learning opportunities for the upcoming fall semester, the William S. Hart Union High School District Governing Board is scheduled to conduct a virtual meeting on July 15 with blended and virtual learning models on the agenda to be discussed.

Given the task of designing an effective learning plan for a safe return to school amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Hart District intends to build an agenda that complies with state mandates and the County Health Order, while simultaneously balancing the requests of Santa Clarita students and parents.

The Hart District Governing Board possesses the authority to make decisions regarding some aspects of the reopening plans, however, the extent of all final decisions by the Board are limited by local and state health orders.

The Los Angeles County Health Order currently does not allow for the “full reopening” of schools within L.A. County due to the County’s recent spike in coronavirus cases and the Hart District Governing Board has no ability to override the County Health Order, according to the William S. Hart meeting agenda. 

At the special board meeting held on June 30, the Board instructed faculty to move forward with preparation of a blended learning model for the 2020 fall semester by combining both in-person and virtual learning procedures. 

Plans for the fall semester are designed to do the following:

1) Comply with L.A. County Health Order requirements as a means to keep students, staff, and families safe and to minimize the transmission of the COVID-19 virus.

2) Provide options for parents (either fully online or blended models of instruction).

3) Bring students back to campus as quickly as it is deemed safe to do so.

Related: White House Coronavirus Task Force Advocates Entirely In-Person Learning For Fall

Despite the Coronavirus Task Force’s instruction to reopen school campuses on a national scale, states where the number of cases continue to increase, including California, are held to different guidelines where in-person learning should only be enforced if school safety is equipt to protect the most vulnerable, according to a press briefing led by Vice President Mike Pence and the Coronavirus Task Force. 

“I think we would account for the fact that while we hope — we hope every school in America is able to open this fall, there may be some states and local communities that, given cases or positivity in that community, may adjust to either a certain set of days or certain limitations,” said Pence. “And we’ll be very respectful of that.”

On July 13, Los Angeles Unified School District campuses announced their decision to continue with a virtual semester due to health concerns and increasing COVID-19 cases that have put on-campus plans in flux. 

“With the uncertainty that we face right now in our county, everyone needs to have sort of a ‘plan B’ around the reopening,” said Barbara Ferrer, Los Angeles County Public Health Director. “You absolutely would not want to open a sector when you thought the result of reopening could be an explosion of outbreaks within that sector.”

Collecting advice from a multitude of officials and health advisors, the Hart District Governing Board continues to evolve their plans to best configure learning opportunities in a way to prevent further spread of COVID-19.

To provide a public comment in the meeting, submit written comments by email to ddunn@hartdistrict.org no later than 4 p.m., July 15. Please use “Public Comment” in the title of the email and limit your comments to a maximum of two minutes when read aloud. No action will be taken on any item not appearing on the agenda.

The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. on July 15 and can be viewed on YouTube here.

KHTS FM 98.1 and AM 1220 is Santa Clarita’s only local radio station. KHTS mixes in a combination of news, traffic, sports, and features along with your favorite adult contemporary hits. Santa Clarita news and features are delivered throughout the day over our airwaves, on our website and through a variety of social media platforms. Our KHTS national award-winning daily news briefs are now read daily by 34,000+ residents. A vibrant member of the Santa Clarita community, the KHTS broadcast signal reaches all of the Santa Clarita Valley and parts of the high desert communities located in the Antelope Valley. The station streams its talk shows over the web, reaching a potentially worldwide audience. Follow @KHTSRadio on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.