The Same Storm, but Different Boats:
The Safe and Equitable Conditions for
Starting LAUSD in 2020-21
UTLA  July 2020

LAUSD educators clearly want to get back into schools with their students, but the underlying question at
every step must be: Given broader societal conditions, how do we open physical schools in a way

that ensures that the benefits outweigh the risks, especially for our most vulnerable students and
school communities?

The COVID-19 pandemic in the United States underscores the deep equity and justice challenges arising
from our profoundly racist, intensely unequal society. Unlike other countries that recognize protecting lives
is the key to protecting livelihoods, the United States has chosen to prioritize profits over people. The
Trump administration’s attempt to force people to return to work on a large scale depends on restarting
physical schools so parents have childcare.a
In Los Angeles, this means increasing risk especially in Black and Brown working communities, where
people are more likely to have “essential” jobs, insufficient health care, higher levels of preexisting health
conditions, and to live in crowded housing.1 Meanwhile, the rewards of economic recovery accrue largely to
white and well-off communities that have largely been shielded from the worst of the pandemic’s effects.
Vulnerable students — already facing hurdles such as structural racism, poverty, homelessness, immigration
documentation issues, learning and health disabilities, and limited technology access — were
disproportionately negatively impacted by the Los Angeles Unified School District’s shift to crisis distance
learning. 2 Educators know better than most the critical role that schools play in children’s lives, supporting
not just their educational lives but their social and physical development. But until a vaccine or cure is
available, starting school without policies in place to mitigate viral spread and provide additional student
supports will almost certainly compound the pandemic’s outsize trauma on those students and their families.
This document outlines the equity lens that we must use to view both today’s emergency and tomorrow’s
recovery. First, we ask, Who is suffering the most, and why? Next, we outline current best practices that must be
in place to ensure that our most vulnerable communities are helped, not hurt, by the restart of schools.
Throughout, results from UTLA member surveys and the first round of parent surveys collected by UTLA
will provide insight into the deeply felt concerns that are impacting educators, students, and their families.
Finally, we discuss how funding must be drastically improved if schools are to start safely and equitably.
In March, when it was clear that the deadly virus was spreading in the community, UTLA educators led the
way in calling for LAUSD to save lives by shutting down schools. Today, we are calling on politicians to
demonstrate their commitment to saving lives by fully funding the safe and equitable start of school.

a

ALEC, a right-wing corporate lobby group calling to “bring the economy back to life through a free market approach that gets big government
out of the way” hosted a call with Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on May 5 for this purpose.

 The Same Storm, but Different Boats:
The Safe and Equitable Conditions for Starting
LAUSD in 2020-21
I

The Same Storm, But Different
Boats

•
•

The Color of COVID-19
Students with Disabilities and Other
Health Concerns

II Safe and Equitable Start of School:
Biology Has Rules, Even If We
Choose to Ignore Them
•
•
•
•
•
•

Broad Community Preparedness
Testing and Contact Tracing
Protocols
Physical Distancing
Emphasis on Hygiene
Protections for High-Risk Students
and Employees
Increased Health, Emotional, and
Academic Supports

III Well-Funded Schools and
Communities for Well-Being
IV In Conclusion:
Normal Wasn’t Working For Us
Before. We Can’t Go Back

b

The Same Storm, But
Different Boats
“We’re all in this together” is a common slogan during
this crisis. What this platitude fails to acknowledge
is that, while we may all be in the same storm, we
are not all in the same boat. The United States is at
an unprecedented moment of overlap between a
global pandemic, deep economic recession, and an
uprising for Black Lives that exposes the structural
race and class fissures that have resulted in higher
unemployment, exposure, infection, and death rates
in Black, Brown, and poor communities.

THE COLOR OF COVID-19
Unsurprisingly, the data is increasingly showing that
there is a “disproportionate burden of illness and
death among racial and ethnic minority groups.”3
BIPOC b communities are more likely to experience
economic and social factors that increase risk of
illness and death. Below are just some examples:
• More likely to live in high-density housing
(making social distancing difficult), because of
decades of residential housing segregation caused
by institutional racism.4 In California, the
overcrowding is even more intensified by a
housing crisis that has resulted in an
overcrowding rate over twice that of the national
average.5
• More likely to live in multi-generational
households, increasing the risk of infection of
vulnerable older family members. Such living
situations also make it more difficult to isolate if
an individual gets sick, as space may be limited.6
• More likely to live further away from medical
centers and to be uninsured, leading to poorer
underlying health and barriers to care, increasing
the likelihood of severe illness and death from
COVID-19.7 For example, African Americans,
Latinx, and Native American individuals are more

Black, Indigenous, People Of Color

The Same Storm, but Different Boats: The Safe & Equitable Start of School

UTLA 2

 “I will not send my child…it is not safe for our
children and teachers that have elderly family
members that live with them.”

- UTLA parent survey response -

likely to have chronic illnesses such as obesity,
heart disease, diabetes, and lung disease — all of
which are linked to higher COVID-19 fatality.
93% of all LA County virus fatalities had
underlying health conditions.8
• When employed, more likely to be required to
work outside the home in “essential” jobs that
place them in harm’s way for infection. For
example, although Black workers make up only
12% of all employed workers, they make up 36%
of all nursing, psychiatric, and home health aides. 9
• More likely to have a job without paid sick leave,
increasing their exposure to other workers who
may be infected, and increasing the likelihood that
they themselves will expose others to COVID-19.
Latinx workers are less likely to have access to
paid leave compared to white workers.10
• More likely to rely on public transportation,
increasing the risk of viral exposure.11
• More likely to live in areas with poorer
environmental and air quality, increasing the
likelihood of preexisting health conditions. In
LAUSD, over 65,000 students have asthma.12
• Undocumented immigrants are ineligible for most
governmental relief funds, and ineligible to enroll
in the Affordable Care Act. More than 5 million
U.S.-born children who have undocumentedimmigrant parents are likely to suffer extreme
poverty. As a result, they are much more likely to
be uninsured and thus more likely not to receive
the health care they need.13
• Close to 100,000 LAUSD students are English
Learners.14 While many ELs are native born, they
overwhelmingly come from immigrant families.
In addition to similar healthcare context as
undocumented immigrants, ELs’ families face
added difficulties in poor translation or no
translation in their native language.15
• Data from across the United States reveals Black
people in some cities are as much as 4 times more
likely to be charged for COVID-19-related
emergency order violations. At the same time,
thousands of armed, white, anti-mask protestors

packed the streets in multiple cities across the US
with little police intervention.16
Because of the forces of structural racism, Blacks,
Latinx, and Pacific Islanders in Los Angeles County
are dying of COVID-19 at twice the rate of white
residents.17 Residents of high-poverty areas were
almost four times as likely to die of COVID-19
compared to those who lived in wealthier areas.18
The effect on human lives is quantifiable: the
disproportionate effect of coronavirus means that
at least 700 Blacks, Latinx, and Asian Americans
died because of structural racism that puts them
more at risk compared to white people. Nearly
1,000 people living in high poverty areas died
because of class and income inequality that puts
them more at risk compared to people living in
wealthy areas.19

“I am [older] and African American. Although I
am healthy for my age and I love my job, I am
afraid to come back... I have adopted high
school students and I want to live to see them
graduate and get into college.”

- UTLA member survey response -

Restarting physical schools during the pandemic
will inevitably increase the risk of infection and
death for all Angelenos, but especially for over half
a million LAUSD students and families who fall
into a vulnerable category because of race and/or
poverty.20
LAUSD Student Demographics 21
Latino
73.4
White
10.5
African American
8.2
Asian
4.2
American Indian or Alaskan Native,
<1
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
Filipino
2.1
Not Reported
1
Note: Percentages do not add up to 100%

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 STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES AND OTHER
HEALTH CONCERNS

Students with disabilities make up 13% of the
population of LAUSD. These students often rely
on additional in-person services and supports for
their learning success, particularly if they have a
disability classified as moderate to severe. Because
of unregulated privatization growth, students
classified as moderately to severely disabled make
up a disproportionate percentage of the special
education population of LAUSD: 31% of all
LAUSD special education students have a disability
classified as moderate-severe, compared to only
16% at charter schools.22 The shift to crisis distance
learning has been especially disruptive for these
students. For families of students with disabilities
who are also low-income or who do not speak
English, the situation becomes even more fraught.
Unfortunately, research shows that people with
intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD)
are more likely to be infected, and more likely to
experience serious illness and death from COVID19.23 Children younger than 17 years old with IDD
were nearly 9 times more likely to contract
COVID-19 than children without these disabilities.
Initial outcomes show that people with IDD who
contract COVID-19 may be 2.5 times more likely
to die than those without such a disability.
As recently as late June 25, 2020, the CDC
expanded its list of people at high risk of severe
illness, and changed its presentation of age-related
risk, noting that risk doesn’t begin suddenly at 65,
but rather increases with age. Among other risk
factors, obesity (BMI of 30 or higher) and diabetes
were added.c At least 25% of LAUSD students fall
into these expanded categories, even though many
of them would not necessarily have an IEP and be
classified as a student with a disability.24
The inadequate guidance from the federal and state
levels does not help districts meet the challenge of
how to ensure the needs of students with
disabilities are met during the pandemic era of
education. For example, on the important question
of personal protective equipment (PPE), the state’s
guidance is simply: “Consider how the LEA [Local
Education Agency] will address students with
disabilities who refuse or are not able to wear
c

masks.”25 On the question of physical distancing,
the state appears to prima facie admit that students
with disabilities should be exposed to greater risk in
order to receive instruction: “Establish flexibilities
and plan for how to implement physical distancing
given lack of space and facility limitations…”

“My daughter has asthma and allergies. I have
a high-risk baby that is 6 months [old]. I don’t
have insurance coverage. I’m afraid for my
daughter’s health. Please, I really need help.”

- UTLA parent survey response -

Special education educators are keenly aware of the
challenges of distance learning for their students.
Given the high risk of infection and death for
vulnerable students, it is critical that we fully fund
IDEA to ensure all supports are in place to meet
the needs of our students with disabilities. Without
that targeted funding, the crisis services offered will
not outweigh the risks endemic to in-person
learning.

Safe and Equitable Starting
of School: Biology Has
Rules, Even If We Choose to
Ignore Them.
LAUSD is the second-largest school district in the
country, with over half a million students and their
families who are especially vulnerable to serious
illness and death because of structural racism,
poverty, and/or disability. To equitably start
school, we must adhere to known best practices to
prevent the virus’ spread while employing
education practices that benefit all students,
especially those suffering the most from learning
loss and social isolation. Most organizations and
individuals that have come out unequivocally in
favor of reopening schools are either motivated by
“reigniting the economy” (ignoring the fact that
this is first and foremost a public health crisis and not
primarily an economic crisis), or gloss over the
likely impacts of starting school on broader school

See Appendix A for the CDC’s list of People at increased risk for severe illness

The Same Storm, but Different Boats: The Safe & Equitable Start of School

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 communities, to which our students are inextricably
bound.
While much about the virus remains unknown, a
few facts should be kept in mind:
1)
This is a highly contagious, deadly
disease and the role of children in the
transmission of COVID-19 is currently
unknown. Some studies raise concerns that
children may transmit COVID-19 through two
mechanisms: increased contacts/opportunities for
transmission; and high viral loads even when
asymptomatic.d In Cleveland, Ohio, as the state
lifted protective measures, more children tested
positive for COVID-19 and hospital admissions for
children also increased, raising doubt about the
myth that children do not get ill from the virus.26
Although other countries’ initial school reopenings
show extremely low rates of child-parent
transmission, North Carolina and Texas identified
several clusters at daycare centers.27, 28

“Everyone in the household suffers from
asthma, diabetes, and high blood pressure and
I don’t feel comfortable sending my [students]
to school.”

- UTLA parent survey response -

2)
This is a novel virus. Scientists continue
to uncover new symptoms and risk factors, and
the long-term effects are almost completely
unknown. As recently as May, the CDC added
three new symptoms of coronavirus, adding
congestion/runny nose, nausea/vomiting, and
diarrhea to the list.29 In late June, the CDC
expanded its list of people at high risk of severe
illness.30 In early July, 239 scientists in 32 countries
wrote an open letter to the World Health
Organization outlining evidence that airborne
transmission may be a significant factor in the
pandemic’s spread.31 On July 8, WHO confirmed
that there is “emerging evidence” of airborne

transmission.32 If true, recommended infection
control guidance would change dramatically.
And lost amidst the relief at the low mortality rate
in children is the distinction between morbidity and
mortality. Many young people still experience
severe illness, and the rare multisystem
inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) is still
not well understood. A European study found that
13% of children required respiratory support, and
that patients younger than one month may be more
likely to require intensive care.33 COVID-19 is now
suspected to cause lung, heart, kidney, brain, and
clotting complications — and these are just the
known immediate effects.34 The longer-term effects
are almost completely unknown. As we discuss best
practices, recommendations may shift or expand as
the science shifts and expands.
3)
LAUSD educates over half a million
students, employs over 60,000 adults, and is
spread out over 720 square miles.35 The vast
network of busing and commuting results in an
extraordinary number of contacts, which
undermines social distancing and contact tracing,
key methods of pandemic control. An
asymptomatic child may bring the virus home to
their high-risk grandparents, to their densely
populated apartment building, to a parent with an
essential job that brings them in contact with
hundreds of people.
4)
As of publication, California case counts
and death rates were shattering records and
hospitalization rates were increasing. Los
Angeles County accounted for 40% of new cases in
the last two weeks of June, despite being home to
only a quarter of the state’s population.36 Other
countries that have reopened schools, such as New
Zealand, Vietnam, and Germany, did so only after
they had flattened the curve and in a setting of
broader societal preparedness, including rapid case
identification, contact tracing, and isolation.37

d

One study showed that although children were 1/3 as susceptible to infection as adults, with schools open the risk evens out due to children
having three times as many contacts as adults. Based on this, researchers estimated that closing schools can reduce pandemic surge by 40 - 60 %.
The second study shows that children who test positive have as high a viral load, and sometimes higher, than adults. More con cerning is the fact
that a group of 47 infected children were mostly symptom -free, and these asymptomatic children had viral loads that were as high or even higher
than symptomatic children and adults.

The Same Storm, but Different Boats: The Safe & Equitable Start of School

UTLA 5

 5)
There is a jarringly disparate rate of
COVID-19 infection, severe illness, and death
among BIPOC working communities, where
structural racism and economic inequality
mean people live with economic and social
factors that increase risk of illness and death.
In these communities, people are more likely to
have “essential” jobs, insufficient health care,
higher levels of preexisting health conditions, and
live in crowded housing. Because of the forces of
structural racism, Blacks, Latinx, and Pacific
Islanders in Los Angeles County are dying of
COVID-19 at twice the rate of white residents.
UTLA’s conversations with and initial polling of
LAUSD parents show that 83% of parents said
they do not feel confident enough to send their
child back to school in the fall. Unfortunately, lowincome and BIPOC individuals are more likely to
have to work outside the home, and will be more
likely to send their children to school even if they
are reluctant to do so.38 Meanwhile, more affluent
families, already at lower risk of infection and death
thanks to economic and/or racial privilege, are
more likely to have the luxury of choice to keep
their children home, further widening the already
existing risk gap.
As Dr. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo of UCSF said,
“It’s a luxury to shelter in place.” 39 But it should
not be a luxury for parents to be able to choose to
keep themselves and their children safe.
Parents’ main concerns, expressed via townhalls,
conversations, and initial surveys include:

• having enough funding to ensure safety and
enough personnel to ensure cleanliness
• younger students’ struggles with physical distance
• students with preexisting health issues such as
asthma, medically fragile students, and students
with disabilities
• availability of personal protective equipment
• fear of increased policing in schools
• being forced to go back to a potentially unsafe
working situation in order to be able to pay for
basic life necessities
To ensure that our most vulnerable students and
families are helped, not hurt, by the starting of
school, we must implement best practices to
mitigate the risk of viral transmission. These
practices have been gathered from many sources,
including scientific guidelines set forth by the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC), the California Department of Education
(CDE), the LA County Office of Education
(LACOE), practices from other countries that have
reopened schools especially in Scandinavia and
Asia, practices from childcare centers in the United
States that have been caring for the children of
essential workers, and feedback from UTLA
educators and LAUSD parents.
Restarting schools safely and equitably occurs
in a broader setting of community
preparedness, requiring greater federal and
state resources to support a strategy of physical
distancing in small, isolated groups, with a
strong emphasis on hygiene. Finally, all plans
and practices must be responsive to the rapidly
emerging epidemiology of this novel virus.

Restarting schools safely and equitably
occurs in a broader setting of
community preparedness, requiring
greater federal and state resources to
support a strategy of physical
distancing in small, isolated groups,
with a strong emphasis on hygiene.

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 BROAD COMMUNITY PREPAREDNESS
There is no safe restart of physical schools without
the foundation of broad community preparedness
that demonstrates a commitment to stopping the
spread of the virus through objective metrics and
dramatically increased funding. This includes:
• Testing of 100% of symptomatic individuals in
the community
• Clear, specific, and consistent guidance from
public health officers
• A common response plan for all cities within the
LAUSD boundaries to reduce the risk of
confusion and unnecessary risk
• Decreasing or stable infection and hospitalization
rates in Los Angeles County for 14 days and an
absolute case number that indicates community
spread has stopped
• Close monitoring of the transmission rate (R0
rate) to ensure it does not rise above 1
• Paid sick leave for parents to be able to keep
symptomatic children home
• Clear framework to protect against personal
liability, in acknowledgment of the fact that there
is no way to eliminate all risk during an active
pandemic
• Greatly increased federal and state funding to
support physical distancing and hygiene practices
“My principal even said, ‘Nothing is changed,
except we don’t meet up.’ REALLY?! That’s an
insane view.”

- UTLA member survey response -

TESTING AND CONTACT TRACING PROTOCOLS
• A robust, free testing and contact tracing system
for the entire community that explicitly addresses
access issues about Black, Brown, and lowincome communities
• Assigned seating in classrooms and on buses so
that contact tracers will know exactly who was
sitting next to someone who is found to be
infected
• Rapid response and quarantine protocols upon
any active infections in students or staff 40
• Upon discovery of active infections that
necessitate a classroom or school closure, clear

protocols and parameters for restarting at the
school and district level41
• Clear procedures for confirming that members of
students’ household do not have the coronavirus 42
“My greatest concern is that my classroom is
very small. There is one door in and out of the
class. There is one small half window for [air
circulation].”

- UTLA member survey response -

P HYSICAL DISTANCING
• Keeping students in small groups (“pods”) with as
little contact with others as possible43
• Plans that account for siblings to maintain the
“pod” protections for households
• Staggered arrival, recess, lunch, and pickup times
• Drastically reduced class sizes to no more than 12
per classroom
• Specific implementation plans given each school’s
unique physical layout
• One-way travel in hallways, and lockers assigned
by “pods” and/or the elimination of lockers to
avoid commingling in hallways
• Personal protective equipment provided for staff
and students
• Reduced furniture in classrooms to increase space
for physical distancing and reduce surfaces
needing disinfecting
• Dramatically changed transportation plans to
ensure social distancing
• Increased air circulation in classrooms and
buildings 44
• Instruction provided in outdoor settings when
possible

E MPHASIS ON HYGIENE
• Frequent and thorough hand washing supported
by installation of portable hand-washing stations;
adjusted lesson plans to factor in time for hygiene;
and considerations for additional supervision
needs for younger children’s hand washing
regimens 45
• Strict cleaning and sterilizing regimens, including
ensuring schools have proper supplies (including

The Same Storm, but Different Boats: The Safe & Equitable Start of School

UTLA 7

 [My single greatest concern is] “our nurse is
only on campus three times a week.”
- UTLA member survey response -

paper towels given the likely need to eliminate
hand dryers in bathrooms)
• Special attention for high-touch surfaces such as
drinking fountains, door handles, and faucet
handles 46
• Adequate supplies of Personal Protective
Equipment (PPE) for all staff and students
• Self-directed symptom and temperature screening
of students by parents before they leave home
(and see above regarding newly added
symptoms)47
• Student and staff symptom and temperature
screening before entering buses or school
buildings (although see above regarding the
unknown role of asymptomatic transmission by
children)
• Designated rooms for isolating students who
exhibit symptoms 48

PROTECTIONS FOR HIGH - RISK STUDENTS AND
EMPLOYEES

• Clear options and accommodations for staff and
pupils who are at higher risk or have family
members who are higher risk (and see above
regarding CDC’s recently added risk factors)49
• Clear guidelines for students and staff with health
issues that cannot safely wear PPE or that need
specialized PPE (such as deaf and hard of hearing
students and staff who rely on lip reading)50

• Clear guidelines for safe service delivery of IEPrequired services for students with disabilities
• Additional support for parents who have
vulnerable individuals in the household to be able
to stay home to reduce chances of infection and
death
• Policies designed to mitigate the disproportionate
risk of infection, serious illness, and death in
students’ BIPOC and/or poor communities

INCREASED HEALTH , EMOTIONAL, AND
ACADEMIC SUPPORTS

In addition to taking steps to mitigate the risk of
viral transmission, LAUSD should also take steps
to provide increased supports for students, many of
whom may be returning to school having
experienced increased trauma from the health and
economic effects of the pandemic.
• A nurse in every school, to support health
outreach including:
o Strong programs for free and widespread
influenza vaccination for students and staff,
given the overlap of influenza with the potential
return to school buildings in the fall51
o A coordinated approach with all appropriate
agencies in the LAUSD boundaries to ensure
children receive all recommended vaccinations
before return to school, given the precipitous
drop in recommended childhood vaccinations
as a result of the pandemic (leading to increased
likelihoods of simultaneous infectious disease
outbreaks such as measles)52
• Explicit plans to address social emotional trauma
and continued stress amidst pandemic through
increased mental health supports, including

With an over 55% response rate from UTLA members, the UTLA Safe and Equitable Schools
survey showed that over 85% of members said that the following safety measures were
“critically important” or “very important” for them to feel that it is safe and appropriate to
return to schools:
✓ Widespread testing of students and employees
✓ Significantly increased cleaning protocols
✓ Personal protective equipment for employees
✓ Personal protective equipment for students
✓ A rigorous tracing procedure for anyone in close contact with someone who tests positive
✓ Reduced class sizes to keep students six feet away from each other
✓ Alternative learning/work arrangements for high-risk students and staff
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 increased staffing of counselors, psychologists,
PSWs, and PSAs. According to the CDC, even
before the crisis, suicide was the second leading
cause of death among youth aged 10 – 24 years.53
An estimated 20% of LAUSD students have a
diagnosable mental health issue. 54
• Explicit plans to carry out health and safety
protocols without resorting to punitive policing
and punishment
• No standardized testing infringing on
instructional time55
• Increased academic supports to address learning
loss, balanced with realistic academic expectations
given the likely continued stress and trauma that
will be experienced by students and their families
upon restarting, so that the return to school does
not become an additional source of trauma

• A commitment to a balanced curriculum with
physical education, arts, and other electives to
teach the whole child
• Explicit plans to avoid marginalization of families
where English is not the primary language
through consistent communication and
opportunities for feedback in all languages spoken
in the school community
• Compensatory services for students with
disabilities, including extra supports where needed
for transitioning back into the school setting
• Policies to support staff mental health, including
accommodations where needed, clear and regular
communication from administrators and the
district, opportunities to express concerns, and
participatory decision-making processes
• Pre-opening training and “rehearsals” so staff may
adequately prepare and identify areas for
improvement

Well-funded Schools and Communities for Well-Being
“LAUSD needs to do what is right for
everyone. In order to make everything safe, it’s
going to take a lot of money, money that the
district does not have.”

- UTLA parent survey response -

Implementing even a portion of COVID-19 best
practices would require additional funding. The American
Association of School Administrators (AASA) and the
Association of School Business Officials (ASBO)
estimates that the average school district would need to
spend an additional $1.8 million to safely reopen school
sites.e Extrapolating using the figures from the
AASA/ASBO analysis, LAUSD’s total additional
expenses to restart physical schools could be nearly $250
million.

These estimates do not take into account measures to address the increased need for mental health and
social services, the educational needs of children who may have fallen behind in the shift to crisis distance
learning, regular testing of students and staff, or the long-term effects on students that will need to be
addressed over multiple years. Finally, these costs do not include investments into distance learning, which
will continue to be provided, either to all students under a full distance learning or hybrid model, or to a
significant subset of students even under a full-time return to schools model.
Unfortunately, instead of flattening the curve, politicians and the billionaires they serve have instead
flattened school budgets and our capacity to safely restart schools. California’s public schools were severely
underfunded even before the Great Recession and have only recently seen a return to non-inflation-adjusted
pre-recession funding.56 Libraries, parks, and public health programs are planning for catastrophic cuts.
Meanwhile, U.S. billionaire wealth has surged by more than $584 billion. 57 Over 150 of those billionaires live
in California. There is money to safely restart schools, if federal, state, and local governments are willing to
finally prioritize pupils over plutocrats.

e

Average school district has 3,659 students, eight buildings, 183 classrooms, 329 staff members, and 40 school buses. Expenses contemplated
for additional health monitoring, cleaning/disinfecting, health and safety protocols, PPE, etc.
https://www.asbointl.org/asbo/media/documents/Resources/covid/COVID -19-Costs-to-Reopen-Schools.pdf

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 FEDERAL SUPPORT
1.

2.

3.

4.

Federal Bailout: Although the CARES and HEROES Acts 58 provided funding for K-12, both fell far
short of what would be needed to rescue districts and state and local governments. And as of
publication, no money has been dedicated to address the specific needs of students with disabilities,
which in LAUSD annually requires nearly $1 billion in general fund transfers due to the federal
government’s failure to meet its IDEA funding promise. Many experts are calling for at least $500
billion in additional federal assistance this year, and a commitment to continue support over several
years.
Fully Fund Title I: Congress has perpetually underfunded Title I, ignoring the growth in student
enrollment, the increasing costs of education, and the reality that schools have become the de facto
centers of their respective communities. In California, specifically, last year the Title I funding gap was
$3,400 per Title I eligible student — the largest gap in the nation.59 This funding is foundational to
meeting the needs of our students, and Title I was persistently underfunded well before the pandemic.
Congress must appropriate substantial emergency and ongoing resources through the Title I program if
we are to have a solid floor in which to provide education during and after the pandemic.
Fully Fund IDEA: Since the passage of the Individuals With Disabilities Education (IDEA) Act in
1975, Congress has never come close to allocating the 40% funding promised to ensure a free and
appropriate public education for students with disabilities. Instead, funding has consistently hovered
around 16%.60 In early May, 25 senators wrote a letter voicing their support for IDEA’s full
implementation at this time in conjunction with an additional appropriation of $12 billion in IDEA
funding to ensure school districts across the country are able to meet the needs of students with
disabilities. To date, that letter has been entirely ignored by the Senate Majority Leader, Mitch
McConnell, and no such funding has been officially proposed or discussed in the Senate.
Medicare for All: Coronavirus shows definitively why we need Medicare For All. People fearful of
crippling medical bills avoid seeking testing and treatment, leading to undetected COVID-19 cases and
a likely increase in death rates thanks to people delaying medical care until they reach a critical
condition. The boundless greed of the for-profit health industry, combined with this country’s deeply
ingrained racism, has led to race-based health disparities that have resulted in excess deaths especially
among Black communities long before the pandemic further widened the health gap. That same greed
has resulted in Gilead Sciences pricing a five-day course of Remdesivir at $3,120 — despite having
received $70.5 million in public funding for the development of the coronavirus drug. 61

STATE SUPPORT
Although the 2020-21 California budget did not have cuts to K-12, a “no cuts” budget is not enough to
restart safely amidst pandemic when California ranks 38th in the nation in per-pupil funding.62 With the
state’s rainy day fund projected to be depleted within three years, Californians must make a choice: continue
deficit spending that will take years to pay down at the expense of communities, or demand that California’s
record number of millionaires and billionaires finally pay their fair share. 63
1.

2.
3.

The California Schools and Local Communities Funding Act of 2020, aka Schools and
Communities First: This proposition on the November 2020 ballot will increase funding to education
and local government by reassessing property tax of commercial and industrial properties valued at $3
million or more from 1978 assessments to current assessment values. Projected to add $7.5 billion to
$12 billion a year with 40% allocated to schools and 60% added to local governments. 64
Wealth Tax: A new tax on unrealized capital gains to California billionaires only, 1% a year until
capital gains taxes are met. This would generate an estimated $10 billion a year initially.
Millionaire Tax: Add a 1% surtax on incomes over $1 million a year, and 3% for over $3 million a
year. This would generate an estimated $4.5 billion-plus a year.

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 LOCAL SUPPORT
Although the machinations of Washington, D.C. and Sacramento have received the spotlight during this
crisis, many of the living and working conditions in people’s everyday lives are decided at the local level.
Local policies often set the precedent for more progressive moves at the state and national level.
1.
2.

3.
4.

5.

Defund Police: Police violence is a leading cause of death and trauma for Black people, and is a
serious public health and moral issue.65 We must shift the astronomical amount of money devoted to
policing, to education and other essential needs such as housing and public health.
Housing Security: There is no “safer at home” for those who do not have a home. Students need
stability, and cities have the power to pass ordinances to prevent evictions and provide rental relief
funds. Instead of just one-time relief, as was passed by the LA City Council in June 2020, housing can
be a human right assisted by the state.66 Additionally, as Project Roomkey has demonstrated, sheltering
the homeless community is a matter of political will, not scarce resources. 67 Over 15,000 homeless
students in LAUSD need permanent shelter.68
Paid Sick Leave: Parents should not have to decide between staying home with a sick child or going
to work in order to be paid. All cities in LAUSD’s boundaries should follow LA City Council’s lead
and require ten additional sick days, and expand those sick days to require it of all businesses.69
Charter Moratorium: Privately operated, publicly funded charter schools drain resources from district
schools — and many have “double-dipped” during this crisis by taking federal small business bailout
loans even though state funding did not decline this school year. 70 In addition, colocation adds
students to campuses when we need to reduce the number of students to allow for physical distancing.
Financial Support for Undocumented Students and Families: California’s more than 2 million
undocumented residents are by and large ineligible for state and federal benefits. Even if their children
are US citizens, in the era of ICE raids and mass deportations, many undocumented parents are too
fearful to apply for benefits for their children. California undocumented immigrants disproportionately
pay taxes without benefits, paying an estimated $4.5 billion in federal taxes and $2.5 billion in
California state taxes in 2018.71 Immigrant students and workers, so vital to our schools and our
economy, must be supported during this crisis.

In Conclusion: Normal Wasn’t Working For Us Before.
We Can’t Go Back
UTLA educators went on strike in 2019 demanding smaller class sizes; more nurses, librarians, and
counselors; an end to racist “random” searches; and more, because normal wasn’t working. Educators won
these demands because it wasn’t just 35,000 educators in the streets demanding a new normal, but 70,000
Angelenos walking side by side with educators demanding increased investments in schools and
communities.
No matter the scenario in August, it’s clear that it will not be a “normal” school year. But when “normal”
means deep race and class fissures that result in increased infection and death rates in Black, Brown, and
high-poverty communities; when “normal” means increasing police budgets even as schools, libraries, and
public health face catastrophic cuts; when “normal” means corporations receiving trillions in bailout funds
as federal commitments to support special education and high-poverty students remain unfulfilled; when
“normal” means working families lining up for miles for food banks while US billionaires increased their
wealth by over $584 billion — it is clear that going back to normal is not an option. This crisis presents an
opportunity to create a new normal that supports all students.
UTLA educators are eager to get back to our schools where they can care for, laugh with, and most
importantly, teach our students. But even more than teaching, our job in a pandemic is to keep students and
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 communities safe. As politicians have gutted public goods, the burden on schools to be safe havens for
learning has become more substantial. The eventual restarting of physical schools should be primarily about
learning, not merely about opening childcare centers for workers, whose employers by and large pay
minimum wage and don’t offer healthcare and paid sick leave.
Learning happens when students and educators feel safe, and safety is only possible in a broader setting of
community preparedness, requiring greater federal and state resources to support a strategy of physical
distancing in small, isolated groups, with a strong emphasis on hygiene. All of that is attainable, but only if
schools and communities are funded appropriately. California can do that if politicians are finally willing to
prioritize pupils over plutocrats.
Despite an avowed interest in hastily reopening schools, American politicians, and society as a whole, have
not done what is needed to safely restart — as evidenced by record-shattering infection rates, rapidly filling
ICU wards, a grotesque lack of PPE for essential workers, a shameful lack of tests, an almost complete
inability to contact trace new outbreaks, and dramatically disproportionate infection and death rates in
Black, Brown, and high-poverty communities. The United States leads the world in the number of
coronavirus cases and deaths — and not coincidentally, also leads the world in number of billionaires, percapita energy consumption, prisoners, school shootings, and medical bankruptcy f.72,73,74,75 This is not the
setting of community preparedness that serves as the foundation for safe classroom instruction amidst a
pandemic.
When politicians exhort educators and other workers to “reignite the economy,” UTLA educators ask: who
are you planning to use as kindling? The benefits to restarting physical schools must outweigh the risks,
especially for our most vulnerable students and school communities. As it stands, the only people
guaranteed to benefit from the premature physical reopening of schools amidst a rapidly accelerating
pandemic are billionaires and the politicians they’ve purchased.

f

Medical bankruptcy is such a foreign concept outside of the United States that no other country even attempts to track it.

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 Appendix A
As of June 25, 2020, the CDC list for “People Who Are at Increased Risk for Severe Illness”
•

Older Adults

•

People of any age with the following conditions are at increased risk of severe illness from
COVID-19:
1. Chronic kidney disease
2. COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)
3. Immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) from solid organ transplant
4. Obesity (body mass index of 30 or higher)
5. Serious heart conditions such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, or cardiomyopathies
6. Sickle cell disease
7. Type 2 diabetes mellitus

•

People with the following conditions might be at an increased risk for severe illness from
COVID-19:
8. Asthma (moderate-to-severe)
9. Cerebrovascular disease
10. Cystic fibrosis
11. Hypertension or high blood pressure
12. Immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) from blood or bone marrow
transplant, immune deficiencies, HIV, use of corticosteroids, or use of other immune
weakening medicines
13. Neurologic conditions, such as dementia
14. Liver disease
15. Pregnancy
16. Pulmonary fibrosis (having damaged or scarred lung tissues)
17. Smoking
18. Thalassemia (a type of blood disorder)
19. Type 1 diabetes mellitus

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The Same Storm, but Different Boats: The Safe & Equitable Start of School

UTLA 17