Watch CBS News

Back To School At Home: Stockton Unified Students Will Not Return To School In August

STOCKTON (CBS13) — Students in the Stockton Unified School District will not be returning to the classroom next month for the first day of school due to the increase in coronavirus cases in San Joaquin County.

Instead, the 2020-2021 school year will start with a "100% distance learning model," the district said Monday.

Instruction will resume on Aug. 3 for the district, which serves more than 50 schools. In a press release, the district said it plans on returning to in-person learning " during the school year as soon as public health conditions allow."

After SUSD made its announcement, the county public health officer and superintendent of schools issued a press release recommending San Joaquin County schools follow a distance-learning only model at least through the end of August.

Neighboring Stanislaus County also announced Monday afternoon that school will resume with a distance learning model in August. The county also said all conditioning for fall sports and extracurricular activities are suspended until further notice.

Sacramento City Unified is planning on offering 100% distancing learning in addition to a hybrid model where students can attend class. The school year is set to begin on Sept. 3.

The announcements comes hours after Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that the state was seeing concerning increases in hospitalizations and coronavirus patients in intensive care units. Due to the rising numbers, Newsom ordered that bars all across the state must close. Previously, only bars in counties on the state's watch list were ordered to close. However, on Monday, that mandate came to all 58 counties.

More restrictions will be in place for the now 30 counties that are on the state's watch list, including San Joaquin County. In those counties, the following activities are being ordered to close their indoor operations: fitness centers, places of worship, non-critical offices, personal care services, hair salons, barbershops and malls.

The Los Angeles and San Diego school districts, the two largest in California, also announced they would not bring students back to classrooms next month.

Stockton Unified said it will support students with distance learning, technology, and meal services. No other information about the district's plans for distance learning was released Monday.

As of Monday, San Joaquin County reported 6,988 coronavirus cases and 83 deaths. According to the county dashboard, there are currently 204 patients hospitalized with COVID-19, which is well above the 20-patient limit.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.