TVUSD Community Update

Dear Temecula Valley USD Community,

Governor Newsom released an update today that included a new regional-stay-at-home order. While many of the details and parameters of the order are still being analyzed and aligned with our local public health agency guidance, we wanted to provide you with preliminary information. Our initial review appears to indicate that the new order does not further impact schools.

The new regional-stay-at-home order is not yet effective for Riverside County. The Governor's timeline projections of when Riverside County may transition into the order is early December and it is based upon a new metric that defines regions with less than 15% ICU availability. Once a region transitions into the metric, counties will have 48 hours to comply.

We would like to update you on key activities related to your student(s) school year. COVID-19 cases are rapidly increasing statewide, and like you, we have often asked, "What does this mean for our students and staff?” and “When are we permitted to return to in-person instruction?” Our school district believes it is beneficial for our students to attend class in-person. We continue to aggressively pursue all options and advocacy with government agencies to bring students back on campus safely and smoothly.

This communication is lengthy, and includes the following information:

1. Impact of the Governor’s Announcement on Temecula Valley USD

2. In-person Cohort Update

3. Riverside County Status and Elementary Waiver Consideration

4. Status of Athletics and Co-Curricular Activity

5. Returning Students to Campus Timelines

Thank you for your partnership as we balance the safety of our community and returning students to campus in a pandemic environment.

Preliminary information we have indicates that current Temecula Valley USD school operations are not impacted by the new stay-at-home order issued today by the California Governor. While we are not yet permitted to re-open to in-person learning for all students, in-person cohorts and athletic conditioning/co-curricular activities currently operating at schools may remain open during the stay-at-home order.

Currently, available information regarding the Governor's Order can be located on the following site. https://covid19.ca.gov/stay-home-except-for-essential-needs/#regional

In September, we began phasing in small-specialized groups of students (cohorts) to campus, as allowed under separate authorization by the State and County. Strategically, we focused on specific student groups such as special education students, students with no connectivity or Wi-Fi access, English Learners, homeless and foster youth. Currently, we have 450 students enrolled in our special education learning centers and 242 students enrolled in our support hubs. We intend to continue to operate the cohorts and are expanding weekly.

On November 16, 2020, we submitted an elementary waiver application to Riverside University Health Systems-Public Health for approval to return elementary students to a hybrid in-person learning model as soon as it is safe to do so. Riverside County remains in the Purple Tier with county infection rates currently increasing. Therefore, our elementary waiver cannot be processed by County Public Health officials (per State direction) until trending and case rates improve. Hence, our start date to return to campus in an elementary hybrid model cannot be determined. Rest assured, however, TVUSD will be ready to re-open as soon as we are allowed to do so.

Earlier this week, the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) issued a statement related to athletic competitions. Here is an excerpt from their statement “Due to the continued surge in COVID-19 infections, the California Department of Public Health has postponed the issuance of its updated youth sports guidance. The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) does not expect the CDPH will issue any guidance allowing for schools to return to full practice and competition until after January 1, 2021, at the earliest. Thus, all full practice and competition start dates are officially on hold until updated guidance is issued…. CIF State Office is removing all Regional and State Championship events from the Season 1 Sports calendar.”

What does this mean for our athletes and co-curricular tied to athletics? It means games and practices scheduled to begin in December are now postponed until guidance is issued in January 2021. Regardless of CIF’s action, TVUSD athletes and students in co-curricular such as color guard, band, or JROTC may continue conditioning and/or individual training until further notice.

We know how important is it to have students return to school and it continues to be a primary goal. Due to the high trending rates, the return to in-person instruction will not be able to occur as quickly as we hope.

We continue to make preparations for the return to in-person learning. Though we have not been provided an official re-opening date yet, we know that it will be no sooner than January 11th. We are hopeful that our County will progress back into the red tier (which would allow us to re-open after 14 days within red) or that trending improves within the purple tier (which would allow the Riverside County Department of Public Health to consider our waiver to re-open our elementary sites in a hybrid/part-time fashion). Rest assured, as soon as we are permitted, we will be ready.

We will continue to update you as new information becomes available.

All Information is available on TVUSD's 2020/21 School Year Website

https://www.tvusd.k12.ca.us/2021schoolyear

Website: https://www.tvusd.k12.ca.us/2021schoolyear
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TVUSD