FAQs from March 12, 2020
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What happens to the district’s funding if a school temporarily closes to contain the spread of the virus? The district should not lose funding in this situation. The Education Code contains a hold harmless provision specifying that in the event a school is closed due to an epidemic or emergency order or declared State of Emergency. The Code further specifies that a district unable to operate a full school year due to an epidemic or an emergency order by a federal, state, city, or county official is to receive “the same apportionment from the State School Fund as it would have received” if it had operated for a full school year of 175 days (Educ. Code Sec. 41422).

Will schools that are closed have to make up the days at the end of the year?
The Education Code excuses districts from complying with the full school year requirements in the
event of an epidemic or order by a federal, state, city, or county official in response to an emergency
(Educ. Code Sec. 41422). See also Educ. Code Sec. 37202 (excusing such schools from the “equal time” requirement).

Are districts obligated to pay staff at schools that are closed?
Nothing in the Education Code excuses districts from their contractual obligations to pay staff in the
event a school is closed due to an epidemic or emergency order. The fact that the Education Code
protects the district’s funding makes it extremely difficult for districts to argue that they cannot comply
with contractual commitments due to the school closure. For these reasons, the past practice in
California has been to pay school staff even when schools are shut down due to an emergency.

What are my legal rights to take a leave of absence if I get coronavirus?
The same sick leave provisions apply to illness from coronavirus as apply to other illnesses.
In addition to leave provided for in your collective bargaining agreement, the Education Code
guarantees certificated employees who are employed five days a week a minimum of ten (10) paid days
of leave due to illness for a school year of service (Educ. Code Sec. 44978). 
Employees who have exhausted all available and accumulated sick leave and continue to be absent for
up to five months due to illness are eligible for differential pay leave (Educ. Code Sec. 44977 for
certificated employees and Sec. 45196 for classified employees).

Can a district force someone off work if s/he is suspected of being infected but is not officially quarantined by any health agency? As stated above, in addition to other leaves a district provides, Education Code Sections 44964 and 45199 give districts discretion to grant paid leave to certificated and classified staff due to an epidemic – both for illness and quarantine. Therefore, if a district wishes to compel someone to take leave due to suspected illness or exposure, chapters should insist that such leave be paid under Section 44964 or 45199 and not be deducted from the employee’s accumulated leave time.

March 27, 2020
Colleagues, I hope this email finds you safe and healthy. I want to thank those of you who are reaching out with questions and suggestions as we navigate these uncharted waters. Though the OEA office is closed, we have been busy advocating on your behalf. 
Here are just a few updates to keep you in the loop.

Bargaining:
Your OEA Bargaining Team sent a Demand to Bargain Letter to the District to negotiate the effects of COVID-19 on our working conditions and to further clarify, question, and possibly redraft the Telecommunications Guidelines sent out from the District last week. We met with the District yesterday in our first teleconference and presented the District with an MOU on the impacts of school closures. It addresses everything from Compensation, Benefits and Transfers, to Flexible Learning and Communication should schools either reopen or remain closed in May. For updates on the progress of Bargaining, you can check out the OEA Website at www.oxnardea.org. We meet with the District again on April 2nd. 

RIF
Unfortunately, the state has not made any adjustments to the RIF timelines and therefore the RIF Hearing and procedures trudge on. We are working with CTA to collect member information and CTA legal is working with the District to set a hearing date which will adhere to social distancing guidelines. As soon as we hear more information we will keep you posted. 

Upcoming Meetings
OEA Executive Board will meet next week to further flush out our communication plan with you. We are looking into how to hold a Rep Council meeting via Zoom (or some other platform) just to check in with you all. Stay tuned for more information. 

Zoom Meetings/ Distance Learning/ Social Media
There has been A LOT of discussion regarding Distance Learning in the last few weeks and CTA has not taken a pro or con stance on it. I will say, if you are exploring the option of using Zoom with colleagues, students, or admin, please make sure you are familiar with the platform, how to manage it, and how to set clear expectations and guidelines for yourself and your students. I've attached a few guiding documents from CTA to help you on your journey. In fact, those guidelines will most likely be updated and I will send them out as they come. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE remember to use common sense during these uncertain times on both telecommunication and social media platforms. Just like you would not post your personal outings on social media during school hours, please be mindful of what you post and when. In addition, please be mindful of what you are doing during teleconferencing with your admin, district, and colleagues. You would not believe the stories we are hearing from across the state!

And finally, the workload......
Friends, I know these are stressful times. We are worried about our families, our friends and our students. We are trying our best to figure out what Distance Learning really means and more importantly what it looks like. For some, this is a natural step, and for others it feels like a mountain to climb. I know you are trying your best to navigate all of this with young children at home and elderly family members to care for. Treat yourself, your students, and their parents with infinite grace as we try to create distance learning plans. If I were to ask myself, what are we really being asked to do? I would say this:

1. Take care of yourself and your family. Everything else will come.
2. Connect with your students, however and whenever you can within reason. They will love hearing from you and at this point, it doesn't have to be academic. Take it from my six year old, he loved receiving a message from his teacher. 
3. As you plan for the two weeks from when we return from break, think about a couple of fun, open ended, low stress activities to engage your students that align with the standards. You know your students, you know their abilities, and you know what they need. This is not a normal school setting, so let's not treat it as one.

LAST, just like our students need time and growth mindset to navigate learning, so do we. I wish you a safe and restful weekend.
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