Five San Benito County schools approved for waivers to reopen in-person

SAN BENITO COUNTY, Calif. (KION) Schools on the Central Coast have been closed since mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the California Department of Public Health has released a list of schools approved to receive waivers to allow in-person instruction.

To get a waiver, private school principals/heads of school or executive directors of charter schools can apply for one from the local health officer. The health officer then reviews the application and reopening plan to decide whether to grant it or deny it. After reviewing it, the health officer consults with CDPH about the decision to grant or deny the waiver.

Waivers were approved for the following San Benito County schools:

• Panoche Elementary
• Cieniga Elementary
• Willow Grove Elementary
• Tres Pinos Elementary
• Jefferson Elementary

They are a few of the more than 400 schools approved for waivers, but the only ones on the Central Coast.

The waivers are only available for grades TK-6, even if the school offers more grades.

San Benito and Monterey Counties are in the purple tier of the state's Blueprint for a Safer Economy, which means they are not allowed to open schools for in-person instruction without a waiver. Santa Cruz County recently moved to the red tier, and schools there will be allowed to reopen when it has been in that tier for at least two weeks.

See the full list here.

Learn more about the waiver process here.