The Clovis Unified School District has voted to have students return to campus in the fall, while providing the option for families to do online learning in the face of the coronavirus crisis.
The board reached the decision during its meeting Wednesday night.
Parents can opt to send their kids to campus five days a week. School officials said that health precautions will be taken, including requiring the wearing of face coverings, maintaining physical distancing and hand washing and sanitizing procedures.
Those that are not comfortable with having their children on-campus during the coronavirus pandemic can opt to have them stay at home to learn.
The move is in contrast to that made by many other districts across the state that have opted to have students receive instruction 100 percent online or a hybrid version of online and in-person learning.
Major metropolitan areas such as Los Angeles, Sacramento and others have decided to go completely online with classes to start the year.
Earlier in the week, both Selma Unified and Central Unified chose to keep their students home for the start of the school year. Fresno Unified is expected to make its decision on Friday.
The decision was overwhelmingly supported by families surveyed by CUSD, with 70 percent in favor of having students resume in-class instruction, according to school officials.
Clovis trustee Steven Fogg acknowledged that CUSD is going against the trend of other districts, but added that allowing families to opt for online was an important factor in his decision to vote for the plan.
“I strongly support our schools opening on-site five days a week as an option because it gives our families a choice. No child should be forced to go to school to learn. But no child should be forced to stay home,” Fogg said.
CUSD board Clerk Susan Hatmaker encouraged families to make the right decision for their students.
“For those parents and families that the risk is too high, then I would encourage the online option,” Hatmaker said.