On April 14, 2022, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) announced that a statewide requirement for K-12 students to be vaccinated against COVID-19 will be delayed at least until the 2023-24 school year. California had initially intended to require student vaccinations for the 2022-23 school year, but that was contingent on the FDA fully approving the vaccine for most students. Since it’s not known when the FDA will grant full approval, CDPH says health officials and schools wi...

Students and staff at public and private K-12 schools in Ventura County and throughout California will no longer be required to wear masks after March 11, regardless of their vaccination status. Governor Gavin Newsom’s administration made the announcement Monday, saying COVID-19 conditions have sufficiently improved to warrant the change.

Starting on February 16, vaccinated Californians will no longer be required to wear masks in public places, but the mask mandate will remain in effect for K-12 schools for at least two more weeks. Today, the state set February 28 as the date to consider lifting the mask requirement at schools. Dr. Mark Ghaly, Secretary of the California Health & Human Services Agency, made the announcement today, saying that additional time is needed to evaluate the latest data about the spread of COVID-19.D...

Dr. César Morales, Ventura County Superintendent of Schools, is encouraging everyone to send a message of THANKS to school employees who are going above and beyond for kids during the pandemic. Email your message to news@vcoe.org.

The State of California completed delivery of 514,562 N95 masks to the Ventura County Office of Education in Camarillo today. The masks will be distributed to Ventura County public and private K-12 schools for voluntary use by students and staff. Each school and district will develop its own procedure for making the masks available. N95 masks fit snugly to the face and provide a higher level of protection from the coronavirus than the more common surgical masks. The CDC says N95 masks filte...

The State of California delivered 132,000 COVID-19 test kits to the Ventura County Office of Education (VCOE) in Camarillo yesterday evening and this morning. The at-home kits are intended specifically for K-12 public school students as part of a program announced by Governor Gavin Newsom in December. Each kit contains two COVID-19 tests, and VCOE has received enough kits to provide one to every student in the county at no charge. They’re now being sent to local school districts, which wil...

As Ventura County students prepare to return from winter break amid increasing COVID-19 cases in the community, local school leaders are taking all possible steps to ensure the safety of students and employees. While some colleges and universities have announced plans to revert to distance learning temporarily, this is not an option for Pre-K-12 schools. The State of California does not currently permit Pre-K-12 schools to offer distance learning and expects all schools to keep their doors ...

After a lengthy and thorough review and testing process, the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is now available for children as young as five years old. Whether you plan to be among the first to get your kids vaccinated or still have reservations, there are some important things to know about this latest tool in the battle against the coronavirus and what it means for Ventura County schools.

The first day of school is always special, but this year it held even deeper meaning for obvious reasons. It was a real pleasure for me to visit some of our local schools as students arrived for the start of the new school year. You could feel the joy and excitement as students were welcomed back by their teachers from Ojai to Oxnard to Westlake and everywhere in between.

In its most recent communication on August 9, 2021, Ventura County Public Health (VCPH) addressed “new testing requirements” with a reference to guidance from California Department of Public Health (CDPH) on June 16, 2021, which indicated: “Testing is one layer in a multi-layered approach to COVID-19 prevention, in addition to other key measures such as vaccination, mask wearing, improved ventilation, physical distancing, and respiratory and hand hygiene.”VCPH’s gui...