• On Feb. 27, U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) voted with 218 House colleagues to pass the American Rescue Plan Act, a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package. The funds will “help facilitate students’ safe return to the classroom, distribute more vaccines, support workers and hard-hit small businesses, and deliver another round of direct stimulus payments to assist families and boost our economy,” according to a statement from Carbajal’s office. “The need for another round of COVID-19 relief resources has been apparent for months. Central Coast businesses have shuttered, workers have been laid off, and our children are falling behind in school,” Carbajal said in the statement. “More families face eviction and food insecurity with each passing day. State and local government representatives have told me they need more federal assistance to provide essential services and roll out vaccines. Today, I’m pleased to say more help is on the way.” Gov. Gavin Newsom released a statement commending the act’s passage. “I applaud President Biden and Speaker Pelosi on the passage of the American Rescue Plan, … a measure that complements the state’s immediate stimulus package I signed this week,” Newsom said in the statement. “I urge the Senate to now do its part and quickly approve this measure. … The path to recovery for all Americans remains uncertain, and now isn’t the time to slow down the support that people need.”
• Gov. Gavin Newsom recently outlined a plan to dedicate at least 10 percent of the vaccine supply to education workers beginning March 1. “The education professionals who nurture and support our children deserve to be and have been prioritized for vaccines, and I am proud to accelerate those efforts in all 58 counties,” Newsom said in a Feb. 25 statement. “Our top priority is getting students back in the classroom as safely and quickly as possible, and the expanded access to vaccines will build on the momentum and confidence that we can do so with urgency.” While counties have been authorized to vaccinate education workers in California since January, according to the statement, not all counties have had enough vaccine supply to do so. “To ensure communities throughout the state are prioritizing education workers, the state will true-up local efforts to the 10 percent minimum through dedicated access to myturn.ca.gov,” the statement said. My Turn is a website where Californians can find out if they’re eligible for COVID-19 vaccination, schedule appointments, and sign up for notifications. “Vaccines will be directed to counties and school communities weighted by equity, including the proportion of students from low-income families, English learners, and homeless youth,” the statement added. “In turn, education workers will qualify for vaccine prioritization based on occupational health exposure—whether they are currently reporting or will imminently report in person.”
• Assemblymember Jordan Cunningham (R-San Luis Obispo) announced in a Feb. 25 Facebook post that he introduced a new bill package that would allow school district boards to partner with local mental health providers to administer their counseling programs, as well as increase funding for these services. “Too many parents know all too well that COVID-19 lockdowns and school closures have taken a serious toll on our kids’ mental health,” Cunningham wrote. “As we start to transition back to in-person school, we need to make sure that our kids have access to mental health professionals who can help. To help do this, I have introduced two bills that would increase both funding for K-12 mental health services and the pool of accessible mental health professionals available for our kids. The mental health crisis among our children is real and needs to be addressed. Our kids’ futures depend on it.”
This article appears in Mar 4-11, 2021.
