L.A. and San Diego school districts announce students will start the school year online

The Los Angeles Unified School District and the San Diego Unified School District on Monday issued a joint statement announcing that they will both begin the upcoming school year in an online-only format, with the aim of  returning to the physical classroom once conditions surrounding the coronavirus crisis sufficiently improve.

"Instruction will resume on Aug.18 in Los Angeles Unified and Aug. 31 in San Diego Unified, as previously scheduled. Both districts will continue planning for a return to in-person learning during the 2020-21 academic year, as soon as public health conditions allow," according to the statement.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday announced school reopening guidance for his state.

New York City last week announced plans to have students return to the classroom, but only on some weekdays. The students would engage in remote learning on the remaining days. A press release said that the plans would be contingent on whether "the city continues to meet all necessary COVID-19 public health thresholds." Parents who want to have their children exclusively engage in remote learning will have that option, according to the notice.

According to Johns Hopkins University, there have been more than 3.35 million coronavirus cases in the U.S., and more than 135,000 deaths.