Parents accuse California district of overuse of COVID tests in school reopening fight

Los Angeles Unified Schools’ superintendent announced Wednesday that he’ll be leaving the job when his term is up in June – following tensions with teachers and parents over coronavirus reopenings and criticism that the district is buying and conducting far more coronavirus tests than required or advised.

State and federal health guidelines suggest far less testing is required for asymptomatic students, parents critical of the district have argued. And even the agreement between LAUSD and its teachers’ union mandates just 20% of biweekly testing for those children. The district required baseline testing a week before students could return to class and then mandates that they submit to additional periodic screenings, whether they are asymptomatic or even infants in the district’s day care, or return to remote learning. An FAQ on the LAUSD website says testing frequency is subject to change depending on the district’s medical team and scientific recommendations, but it’s currently set at weekly.