Berkeley Unified School District has not offered in-person instruction for students, even when public health officials deem it safe. This puts many students at an educational disadvantage.

School closures have hit low-income, children with disabilities, and children from working families particularly hard, widening the achievement gap and creating additional physical, developmental and emotional struggles. 

Countless private schools in our community are open for in-person instruction, exacerbating pre-pandemic equity challenges. Schools across the nation are also open for in-person instruction.

The barrier to opening schools is no longer about the safety of students or staff. Recent data suggests that schools can open safely. Doctors on the front lines are also calling for schools to reopen and sounding an alarm on the real harm these closures are having on kids. 

Join us in demanding that all schools in the Berkeley Unified School District (TK-12) open for in-person instruction as soon as permitted by public health authorities. Our leaders must acknowledge that students deserve access to high quality, in-person instruction, regardless of economic circumstances or where they live.