Update on March 7: The San Dieguito Union High School District was denied its waiver for in-person instruction and the district's superintendent said without it, "we will not be able to full implement our plan." For the full story, click here.
Some North County parents who have been eager to get their kids back into the classroom got some welcomed news Friday.
The San Dieguito Union High School District announced it's ready to reopen on Monday, with or without state authorization.
In a letter to the school community, SDUHSD superintendent Robert Haley said the district is waiting on authorization to reopen from the California Department of Public Health, but it won’t make or break their reopening plans.
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The district “remains committed to offering all students who selected "in-person" learning instruction the opportunity to access campus starting next week,” the letter said.
" We’re so close to getting out of the darkest period of this that we don’t want to rush so fast that we risk a safe and sustainable return," said Heather Dugdale, who has two daughters who attend Torrey Pines High School.
She's been paying close attention to the district's reopening plan and wonders why the district couldn't wait for the state's approval.
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Haley told NBC 7 Friday he won’t stop trying to get authorization from the state to support what local leaders have already told them they can do safely.
“I cannot say as a superintendent that it would be safer for us to say to [students], ‘Stay home one more time.’ I can't do it... I'm committed to teaching a class if I need to, or supervise students on a playground. To do whatever it takes. And as is our entire team. It's time,” he said.
SDUHSD has had some students return to campus since September, but starting Monday it will expand the number of students who will get to return to campus one day a week.
It's somewhat of a hybrid model, where certain students return on that same day every week. The district's goal is to eventually move to two days a week by the fourth quarter.
On Sunday, Earl Warren Middle School sent an email to parents saying because they have not received approval from the state they will no be able to implement a return to classes on Monday.
"While we are still looking forward to our in-person instruction at some point soon, we will not be able to fully implement our plans to return to campus for in-person instruction until we receive CDPH approval. This message particularly pertains to students scheduled to be on campus, Monday, March 8th," the letter stated.
NBC 7 reached out to Haley for clarification on the subject saying:
"All students are welcome to come to campus and we will have a safe learning environment for them. There will be interactivity and support for learning. Unfortunately, without state approval, we will not be able to fully implement our plan."
