New analysis shows students in richer areas far more likely to be back in classrooms

A new analysis from Cal Matters shows what we already know – low-income kids are being hit the hardest while Democrats and teachers’ unions refuse to follow the science that says schools are safe for in-person learning.

And even if this latest COVID bill passes, 95% of the funding for schools isn’t allocated until after 2021, and the money doesn’t even have to be spent on in-person learning. The money can be used to help teachers’ unions instead.

It’s no wonder a new poll found that 65% of respondents would prefer targeted COVID relief compared to the current $1.9 trillion socialist boondoggle.

But that won’t stop Mike Levin, Katie Porter, Josh Harder and John Garamendi from voting for it. 

They’re taking the side of teachers’ unions over the kids who need help the most.

Shame on them.

Take-aways from the Cal Matters analysis include:

• California remains among states with the fewest public schools open for full-time in-person instruction or hybrid learning, where students split time at home and in school.

• Roughly three-quarters of California elementary students are attending school districts that offer no in-person learning whatsoever.

• More than 70% of elementary students attending state private schools have opportunities for in-person or hybrid learning; that proportion for high-school students attending private schools is 42%.

• Among the state’s richest schools, nearly 7 in 10 elementary students attend a district that’s offering some form of in-person learning. School districts with the highest student poverty — with more than four-fifths of students eligible for free or reduced-priced meals — are offering hybrid or in-person learning to less than 1 in 10 of their students.

• In Los Angeles County, hit hard by the pandemic, less than 10% of districts’ elementary students have been offered in-person learning opportunities. The picture is different in next-door Orange County, where about two-thirds of elementary students have had opportunities for some in-person instruction.