(KGTV) -- Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday reiterated his expectation that all California schools should reopen in the fall for the start of the next school year, mentioning August as a potential target month for reopenings.
“We can do this. We must do it, and we must do it sustainably, and we must prepare now for full in-person instruction come this next school year,” Newsom said during a press conference at an elementary school in the Northern California city of Santa Rosa.
Within the last month, the governor said the state would fully reopen its economy on June 15 if certain criteria are met.
“Our default is to get kids back safe in schools by August. I'm expecting by June 15, substantially, to reopen this economy again,” the governor said.
Newsom added, “By August, everybody who wanted a vaccine will have had a chance to have a vaccine … so I would expect and anticipate the anxiety will give way to some new reality by August ... That’s what I expect, with caveats.”
The governor said he has given school districts everything they have asked for, yet many have still not reopened or intend to offer only partial in-person learning when they do. Those that are offering in-person classes are largely elementary schools.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
