Statement by Los Angeles Unified Superintendent Austin Beutner And Members of the Board of Education On Threatened City of Los Angeles Lawsuit (02-05-21)

CONTACT:                                                                FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Shannon Haber, 213-393-1289                                  February 5, 2021

Statement by Los Angeles Unified Superintendent Austin Beutner
And Members of the Board of Education
On Threatened City of Los Angeles Lawsuit

LOS ANGELES (February 5, 2021) – Political stunts will not reopen schools in the Los Angeles area.

Schools in Los Angeles Unified have already put in place all of the health practices and protocols recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – from upgrading air-filtration systems and providing masks and PPE to creating a nation-leading school-based COVID testing and contact-tracing system. That’s not what’s keeping schools closed. 

The problem is COVID levels in the Los Angeles area have not for a single day since March met the state standards for the reopening of schools. We cannot break state law to reopen schools. 

If Mr. Buscaino had called any of us asking how the City of Los Angeles might help schools, we would have suggested they redouble their efforts to reduce the level of the virus and make sure teachers and all who work at schools get immediate access to vaccines.

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