On Nov. 10, the Beverly Hills Unified School District (BHUSD) held a regular Board of Education meeting during which Superintendent Dr. Michael Bregy shared updates with the community on how the current uptick in COVID-19 cases is affecting the physical reopening process and recent changes to the transitional kindergarten (TK) through second grade school waivers. After a motion was approved by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Sept. 29, the L.A. County Department of Public Health (Public Health) began offering a waiver whereby schools may bring back students in grades TK-2 upon approval by Public Health.
Initially, Public health officials announced they would be granting up to 30 waivers per week, with priority given to schools with a large population of low-income students who qualify for free and reduced-price meals. Public Health has since increased the numbers of schools being selected for the waiver from 30 to 50 each week. Last week, Bregy relayed that BHUSD completed the waiver application for Hawthorne Elementary and Horace Mann Elementary, and during the Nov. 10 meeting indicated that officials could be granting approval as early as December. “However, and it’s not a popular thing to say. But it certainly would not be my recommendation to bring back these students in December, right before winter break,” said Bregy at the Nov. 10 meeting.
