With schools shut down throughout the state due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, KHTS has put together a one-stop page for residents to view current health guidelines, along with the status for schools in the Santa Clarita Valley.

Last Updated at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 30.

California Governor Gavin Newsom announced a staged approach to returning students to schools for the 2021 spring semester on Wednesday, Dec. 30.

“It is a fundamental fact that learning remains non-negotiable, but obviously neither is safety,” he said.

The proposal allows for K-6, special education and “populations disproportionately impacted by COVID-19” to reopen for in-person instruction first, while also allowing distance learning to remain an option for parents who feel uncomfortable sending their children to school.

Elementary schools are allowed to reopen, but only if they submit a COVID-19 Safety Plan to both local and state officials. One significant difference between this proposal and previous guidance is that county health officials can only disapprove plans, rather than approve them.

This means that schools are automatically approved to reopen once they submit these plans, granted that county officials do not disapprove them within five days.

Additionally, counties must have a seven-day average case rate of less than 28 cases per 100,000 people per day in order to implement these reopening plans.

Current Guidelines

Note: All guidelines are taken from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. All health guidelines regarding schools can be read here.

As of our last update, all K-12 schools in California counties that are in Tier 1 of the State’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy, including Los Angeles County, are prohibited from reopening for in-person instruction, with the exception of four types of on-site programming.

These are: 

1. Day care for school-aged children and/or child care programs located in schools 
2. Specialized services for defined subgroups of children who need in person services and supports
3. On-site instruction of children in grades TK-2 by schools that have received a Department of Public Health waiver for in-person education.
4. Students may come on campus for supervised administration of college admission tests, including PSAT, ACT, and SAT exams.

For all four types of on-site programming, students are required to be organized and proceed through the day within cohorts, which the county defines as “a stable group of no more than 12 children or youth and no more than two supervising adults in a supervised environment in which supervising adults and children stay together for all activities and avoid contact with people outside of their group in the setting.”

Additionally, the total on-campus population may not exceed 25% of the total student body at any one time. However, the 25% limit does not apply to school-age children on campus receiving day care while engaged in distance learning activities, nor does it apply to students in grades TK – 2 returning after their school has been granted a waiver.

All guidelines can be found here.

Below is a breakdown of all the schools in the five public school districts within the Santa Clarita Valley, and the status of their re-opening. All data regarding their status is taken from the county’s COVID-19 Dashboard, which can be found here.

Note: Being granted a reopening waiver does not necessarily mean that the school is now open, as district officials may still be deliberating on how to implement required safety measures before bringing students back on campus.

Castaic Union School District

• Castaic Elementary School: Offering/Set to Offer In Person Support and Services to Students with IEPs/ELs in Small Stable Cohorts, granted TK-2 reopening waiver.
• Castaic Middle School: Offering/Set to Offer In Person Support and Services to Students with IEPs/ELs in Small Stable Cohorts, granted TK-2 reopening waiver.

• Live Oak Elementary School: Offering/Set to Offer In Person Support and Services to Students with IEPs/ELs in Small Stable Cohorts, granted TK-2 reopening waiver.
• Northlake Hills Elementary School: Offering/Set to Offer In Person Support and Services to Students with IEPs/ELs in Small Stable Cohorts, granted TK-2 reopening waiver.

Newhall School District

• Dr. J. Michael McGrath Elementary School: Offering/Set to Offer In Person Support and Services to Students with IEPs/ELs in Small Stable Cohorts, granted TK-2 reopening waiver.

• Meadows Elementary School: Offering/Set to Offer In Person Support and Services to Students with IEPs/ELs in Small Stable Cohorts, granted TK-2 reopening waiver.

• Newhall Elementary: Offering/Set to Offer In Person Support and Services to Students with IEPs/ELs in Small Stable Cohorts, granted TK-2 reopening waiver.

• Oak Hills Elementary: Offering/Set to Offer In Person Support and Services to Students with IEPs/ELs in Small Stable Cohorts, granted TK-2 reopening waiver.

• Old Orchard Elementary School: Offering/Set to Offer In Person Support and Services to Students with IEPs/ELs in Small Stable Cohorts, granted TK-2 reopening waiver.

• Peachland Elementary School: Offering/Set to Offer In Person Support and Services to Students with IEPs/ELs in Small Stable Cohorts, granted TK-2 reopening waiver.

• Pico Canyon Elementary School: Offering/Set to Offer In Person Support and Services to Students with IEPs/ELs in Small Stable Cohorts, granted TK-2 reopening waiver.

• Stevenson Ranch Elementary: Offering/Set to Offer In Person Support and Services to Students with IEPs/ELs in Small Stable Cohorts, granted TK-2 reopening waiver.

• Valencia Valley Elementary School: Offering/Set to Offer In Person Support and Services to Students with IEPs/ELs in Small Stable Cohorts, granted TK-2 reopening waiver.
• Wiley Canyon Elementary School: Offering/Set to Offer In Person Support and Services to Students with IEPs/ELs in Small Stable Cohorts, granted TK-2 reopening waiver.

Saugus Union School District

• Bridgeport Elementary: Offering/Set to Offer In Person Support and Services to Students with IEPs/ELs in Small Stable Cohorts

• Cedarcreek Elementary: Offering/Set to Offer In Person Support and Services to Students with IEPs/ELs in Small Stable Cohorts

• Charles Helmers Elementary: Offering/Set to Offer In Person Support and Services to Students with IEPs/ELs in Small Stable Cohorts

• Emblem Academy: Offering/Set to Offer In Person Support and Services to Students with IEPs/ELs in Small Stable Cohorts

• Highlands Elementary: Offering/Set to Offer In Person Support and Services to Students with IEPs/ELs in Small Stable Cohorts

• James Foster Elementary: Offering/Set to Offer In Person Support and Services to Students with IEPs/ELs in Small Stable Cohorts

• Mountainview Elementary: Offering/Set to Offer In Person Support and Services to Students with IEPs/ELs in Small Stable Cohorts

• North Park Elementary: Offering/Set to Offer In Person Support and Services to Students with IEPs/ELs in Small Stable Cohorts

• Plum Canyon Elementary: Offering/Set to Offer In Person Support and Services to Students with IEPs/ELs in Small Stable Cohorts

• Rio Vista Elementary: Offering/Set to Offer In Person Support and Services to Students with IEPs/ELs in Small Stable Cohorts

• Rosedell Elementary: Offering/Set to Offer In Person Support and Services to Students with IEPs/ELs in Small Stable Cohorts

• Santa Clarita Elementary: Offering/Set to Offer In Person Support and Services to Students with IEPs/ELs in Small Stable Cohorts

• Skyblue Mesa Elementary: Offering/Set to Offer In Person Support and Services to Students with IEPs/ELs in Small Stable Cohorts

• Tesoro del Valle Elementary: Offering/Set to Offer In Person Support and Services to Students with IEPs/ELs in Small Stable Cohorts
• West Creek Academy: Offering/Set to Offer In Person Support and Services to Students with IEPs/ELs in Small Stable Cohorts

Sulphur Springs School District

• Canyon Springs Community School: Offering/Set to Offer In Person Support and Services to Students with IEPs/ELs in Small Stable Cohorts, granted TK-2 reopening waiver.

• Fair Oaks Ranch Community School: Offering/Set to Offer In Person Support and Services to Students with IEPs/ELs in Small Stable Cohorts, granted TK-2 reopening waiver.

• Golden Oak Community School: Granted TK-2 reopening waiver.

• Leona Cox Community School: Offering/Set to Offer In Person Support and Services to Students with IEPs/ELs in Small Stable Cohorts, granted TK-2 reopening waiver.

• Mint Canyon Community School: Offering/Set to Offer In Person Support and Services to Students with IEPs/ELs in Small Stable Cohorts, granted TK-2 reopening waiver.

• Mitchell Community School: Offering/Set to Offer In Person Support and Services to Students with IEPs/ELs in Small Stable Cohorts, granted TK-2 reopening waiver.

• Pinetree Community School: Offering/Set to Offer In Person Support and Services to Students with IEPs/ELs in Small Stable Cohorts, granted TK-2 reopening waiver.

• Sulphur Springs Community School: Offering/Set to Offer In Person Support and Services to Students with IEPs/ELs in Small Stable Cohorts, granted TK-2 reopening waiver.
• Valley View Community School: Offering/Set to Offer In Person Support and Services to Students with IEPs/ELs in Small Stable Cohorts, granted TK-2 reopening waiver.

William S. Hart Union High School District

• Academy of the Canyons: Offering/Set to Offer In Person Support and Services to Students with IEPs/ELs in Small Stable Cohorts

• Arroyo Seco Jr. High School: Offering/Set to Offer In Person Support and Services to Students with IEPs/ELs in Small Stable Cohorts

• Bowman High School: Offering/Set to Offer In Person Support and Services to Students with IEPs/ELs in Small Stable Cohorts

• Canyon High School: Offering/Set to Offer In Person Support and Services to Students with IEPs/ELs in Small Stable Cohorts

• Castaic High School: Offering/Set to Offer In Person Support and Services to Students with IEPs/ELs in Small Stable Cohorts

• Golden Oak Adult School: No notice submitted for In Person Support and Services to Students with IEPs/ELs in Small Stable Cohorts

• Golden Valley High School: Offering/Set to Offer In Person Support and Services to Students with IEPs/ELs in Small Stable Cohorts

• Hart High School: Offering/Set to Offer In Person Support and Services to Students with IEPs/ELs in Small Stable Cohorts

• La Mesa Jr. High School: Offering/Set to Offer In Person Support and Services to Students with IEPs/ELs in Small Stable Cohorts

• Learning Post Academy: Offering/Set to Offer In Person Support and Services to Students with IEPs/ELs in Small Stable Cohorts

• Placerita Jr. High School: Offering/Set to Offer In Person Support and Services to Students with IEPs/ELs in Small Stable Cohorts

• Rancho Pico Jr. High School: Offering/Set to Offer In Person Support and Services to Students with IEPs/ELs in Small Stable Cohorts

• Rio Norte Jr. High School: No notice submitted for In Person Support and Services to Students with IEPs/ELs in Small Stable Cohorts

• Saugus High School: Offering/Set to Offer In Person Support and Services to Students with IEPs/ELs in Small Stable Cohorts

• Sequoia School: No notice submitted for In Person Support and Services to Students with IEPs/ELs in Small Stable Cohorts

• Sierra Vista Jr. High School: Offering/Set to Offer In Person Support and Services to Students with IEPs/ELs in Small Stable Cohorts

• Valencia High School: Offering/Set to Offer In Person Support and Services to Students with IEPs/ELs in Small Stable Cohorts
• West Ranch High School: Offering/Set to Offer In Person Support and Services to Students with IEPs/ELs in Small Stable Cohorts

Note: All guidelines are taken from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. All health guidelines regarding schools can be read here.

Last Updated at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 12.

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