California’s School Reopening Plan/County Moves to Red Tier
Remote learning has taken a significant toll on our student’s mental health as well as their academic outcomes, with students, families, teachers and school faculty dealing with high levels of stress and anxiety amid the pandemic.
While there is no easy solution to reopening California schools, it is clear that we need to get students back into their classrooms as quickly as possible without compromising their safety or the safety of our teachers and administrators.
The California State Legislature is currently reviewing a legislative school reopening proposal, Senate Bill and Assembly Bill 86, that would provide funding to open California schools and aid in learning recovery efforts. These bills will be heard by the Senate and Assembly on Thursday March 4th.
The proposal allocates $6.6 billion in state funding: $2 billion in incentives to expedite the return to school and $4.6 billion to address learning loss and academic outcomes influenced by distance learning.
Alongside this, Last week, Governor Newsom announced an equity-centered plan to accelerate access to COVID Vaccines for education workers. Beginning March 1, at least 10 percent of the state’s vaccine supply will be dedicated to education workers, including teachers, paraprofessionals, bus drivers, childcare workers and site-based administrators.
I am hopeful that this plan will address the learning loss that students have experienced without in-person instruction, while ensuring that our educators, students, and families are as protected as possible.
Responding to learning loss impacts as well as considerations for physical and mental health must be factored into our State’s next steps moving forward to continue to support the overall health and well-being of all children. That is why, during this budget process, I am prioritizing expanding funding for school-based student mental health services in a similar vein as School Linked Services, a program that I spearheaded with our Santa Clara County Office of Education (SCCOE). School Linked Services is currently in about 200 schools across 15 school districts in Santa Clara County and connects students and families to county mental health counseling, case management, and public health services.
Learn more about the state's school reopening plan at this link.
Having served on a School Board myself, I know that our schools are grappling with their most difficult challenges. We owe a deep debt of gratitude to our school administrators, faculty, and staff for their continued leadership during this pandemic and the work they are doing to invest in every child.
Continuing my partnership with the Santa Clara County Office of Education, I have introduced The Special Education Inclusion Act, SB 692. Numerous studies indicate that inclusion significantly increases graduation rates and academic performance for students with disabilities. SB 692 would create a disincentive for schools to segregate students with special needs into separate and unequal classrooms when a student is capable of performing at grade level and/or has no cognitive impairment and provide general education teachers. It will also provide training and professional development on teaching strategies for the most common disabilities such as ADHD, dyslexia, dyscalculia, and autism.
Santa Clara County moved into the to Red Tier on the State’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy on March 3rd.
All activities authorized under the State’s Red Tier, including indoor dining, can resume in accordance with State capacity limits and safety protocols, including:
- Indoor dining at maximum 25% capacity or 100 people, whichever is fewer
- Retail stores at maximum 50% capacity
- Gyms and fitness centers at maximum 10% capacity
- Movie theaters at maximum 25% capacity or 100 people, whichever is fewer
- Zoos, museums, and aquariums at 25% maximum indoor capacity.
Remember to stay vigilant by wearing a mask, keeping your distance, and getting vaccinated when it’s your turn. For more information on what the State allows in the Red Tier, visit covid19.ca.gov.
Universal Basic Income, or “UBI”, is an investment in our community that is unconditional, universal and provided regularly. It is a concept that is gaining support and traction from a growing body of evidence and peer-reviewed research pointing to its success in reducing health, economic and social disparities.
A population that is left particularly vulnerable to these forms of inequities are our foster youth population, particularly our “Transition Age Foster Youth” - foster youth between the ages of 18 or 24 that are transitioning out of the foster care system into adulthood and economic independence.
When a foster youth ages out of the system, they aren’t able to access to the resources they previously relied on. In fact, numerous studies have demonstrated that they are more likely to display mental and physical health problems, they are more likely to experience homelessness and they have lower rates of educational and employment attainment.
Universal basic income can serve as a lifeline for these youth aging out of the foster care system in California, especially as they enter the adult world during an economic decline caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In Santa Clara County, I launched the first program in the nation to provide universal basic income to young adults transitioning out of foster care. This program stemmed from a partnership with Ms. Gisele Huff, president of the Huff Fund for Humanity, with a goal of providing stability to these youth that have faced so much social and economic instability in their life.
In Santa Clara County, young adults who age out of the foster care system are receiving direct cash payments of $1,000 a month for one year to help alleviate financial stress and instability during their transition to adulthood. This is a concept I believe we should expand statewide, and I’ve introduced SB 379, the “Universal Basic Income for Transition Age Foster Youth Act”, to do just that.
Building on the successful implementation of a first-of-its-kind program to provide universal basic income to youth aging out of the Santa Clara County foster care system, SB 739 would require the State Department of Social Services to provide California residents who age out of the foster care system at age 21, approximately 2,500 people a year, direct monthly payments of $1,000 for three years.
During a time of such uncertainty, unconditional basic income will provide stability to our foster youth transitioning out of foster care and into adulthood, so that they can advance their social, economic, and educational outcomes.
Learn more by viewing recent news coverage:
The Mercury News - Santa Clara County is model for plan to give $1,000 a month to California foster youth
KQED Forum – Universal Basic Income for Foster Youth Introduced in CA Senate
NBC Bay Area - Sen. Cortese Introduces Legislation to Provide Basic Income to State's Former Foster Youth
The Imprint News - California Considers Universal Basic Income for Former Foster Youth
KCBS Radio - Proposed legislation to expand universal basic income for transitioning foster youth
The Appeal - Give Kids Aging Out of The Foster Care System Money to Survive
Join me Thursday, March 11th at 6:00pm for a virtual Q&A discussion to learn more about state rental assistance available to landlords and tenants in California, including aid available under the COVID-19 Tenant Relief Act of 2020.
I will be joined by Housing Attorney at the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley, Michael Trujillo. Mr. Trujillo brings a wealth of knowledge on these issues and is a graduate of Harvard Law School and the Oregon State University Honors College.
To RSVP for this Town Hall, visit this link. Upon RSVP, you will be emailed a link to join the virtual Town Hall.
You can ask questions during the Town Hall or submit them in advance to Senator.Cortese@sen.ca.gov
For those of you unable to make it on March 11th at 6:00pm, the Town Hall will be livestreamed and available for later viewing on my website, https://sd15.senate.ca.gov, and my Facebook page, www.facebook.com/davecortesegov. Closed captioning will be available through the livestream on my website.
I'm sure you can relate. Some of my memories growing up were at my local park. It's important that we do our part to ensure that our open spaces will be available for recreation, play, and relaxation for our future generations to enjoy as well!
To this end, the County of Santa Clara is developing its very own Children's Outdoor Bill of Rights to set in stone the essential "rights" that a child has to nature and the outdoors as they grow up.
Do your part in crafting this Bill of Rights by taking this 5-minute survey by March 12th in English, Spanish, or Vietnamese.
If you are a Parent, Caregiver, or Community Member who works with Youth, you too can take the survey here.
Registration is now open for the Western Association for College Admission Counseling’s (WACAC) Virtual College Fairs! WACAC’s annual free College Fairs provide students with the opportunity to meet representatives from colleges and universities from all over the country and beyond. Over 200 higher education institutions are registered to attend WACAC’s spring fair series where they will also be offering information sessions on the UC/CSU Applications and Financial Aid.
- March 3, 2021 from 4-8pm PT – Student Registration
- March 14, 2021 from 12-4pm PT – Student Registration
- April 19, 2021 from 4-8pm PT – Student Registration
Positivity Rate for California:
California's positivity rate is a key indicator of community spread. As of March 1st, the 7-day positivity rate is 2.3% and the 14-day positivity rate is 2.6%.
Nationwide COVID-19 Numbers (reported by the Center for Disease Control, CDC, from previous day):
As of March 1st, there have been:
- 28,405,925 total positive cases, with 50,505 new cases reported from the prior day.
- 511,839 total deaths, with 1,062 new deaths reported.
For more COVID-19 data provided by the CDC, click here
California COVID-19 Vaccination Progress:
Learn more about California vaccine distribution here.
National COVID-19 Vaccination Progress:
|
National COVID-19 Vaccine Data (03/01) |
|
|
Total Doses Distributed |
96,402,490 |
|
Total Doses Administered |
76,899,987 |
Learn more about national vaccine efforts here.
COVID-19 Cases and Hospitalizations in Santa Clara County
The total number of deaths due to COVID-19 in Santa Clara County is 1,797 as of March 2nd, 2021. The total case count has now reached 110,911 with a 7-day rolling average of testing positivity at 2.1%.
As of March 2nd, there were 178 COVID positive patients hospitalized in Santa Clara County (down from 274 the week of Feb 15th, 377 the prior week and 487 the week before that) More data can be found through the Santa Clara County Public Health Department’s Data Dashboards.
County COVID-19 Testing
Santa Clara Valley Medical Center continues to offer free drop-in and appointment-based COVID-19 testing at several locations across the county. Residents can book an appointment for various sites in Vietnamese, Chinese, Spanish, or English. Visit www.sccfreetest.org to search for an available site by City or Date, or to see the complete list of available County testing sites.
County COVID-19 Vaccination
The County’s COVID-19 Vaccine Dashboard continues to be updated daily with information about vaccine allocation and administration by healthcare providers throughout the county. The latest updates on vaccine eligibility and how to schedule an appointment are available on the County’s website at sccfreevax.org. In addition, residents without internet access or who need additional assistance can make appointments for the County Health System vaccine sites through the Valley Connection Call Center at 408-970-2000. The Call Center is open Monday through Friday from 7am to 9pm and Saturday and Sunday from 8am to 4:30pm. Assistance is available in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, and other languages.
State Resources Posted on My Website
State resources and services available during the pandemic have been posted on my new website: sd15.sen.ca.gov. Just click on the "COVID-19" link under the “Resources” tab of my website to get connected to some of the most frequently used state resources, including resources for businesses and employers, students, those in need of housing and financial assistance, and more.
As always, please feel free to reach out to me with any questions, comments, or concerns. I can be reached at senator.cortese@sen.ca.gov.
Thank you,
Dave Cortese