San Diego teachers can voluntarily teach migrant kids in-person, district's students still at home

Teachers from California's San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) can volunteer to provide in-person education to migrant children even before kids from the district get to return to their own classrooms.

"We have 130,000 kids who haven't been allowed in a classroom for over a year in the San Diego United School District. It's great that there's in-person learning for those unaccompanied minors from Central America, but I wish every child in San Diego Country was allowed the same opportunity for in-person teaching," San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond told Fox News.

Fox News reported that a school district spokesperson confirmed to the outlet that the district has shared information regarding the opportunity for educators to choose to instruct migrant kids in-person during spring break, though the spokesperson noted that she does not know whether educators are receiving payment and that the matter would be up to the county. The spokesperson did not have knowledge of any plan for the district to reimburse educators for their expenditures, Fox News also reported.

"The San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE) is providing the educational program for the unaccompanied migrant children who will be staying at the San Diego Convention Center through July. All children in California, regardless of immigration status, have a constitutional right to education. We also have a moral obligation to ensure a bright future for our children," a SDCOE spokesperson said to Fox News in an emailed statement, according to the outlet. "The educational program will include English language development and social-emotional learning opportunities. The teachers who are participating in the program are doing so voluntarily, and the program is following a COVID-19 screening protocol based on guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."

The school district website indicates that in-person hybrid instruction will be available to students beginning next month: "With thousands of students already attending in-person appointments at Learning Labs across the city, San Diego Unified classrooms will be reopening the week of April 12 to students who wish to return to campus for an Onsite/Online hybrid instructional model," SDUSD's website states.