SACRAMENTO COUNTY, Calif. — A Sacramento school was told to close Tuesday after reopening for in-person learning, according to Sacramento County Public Health.
Public health officials say Capital Christian School violated the state's order prohibiting in-person classes in counties on the monitoring list.
Public and private schools in 38 counties on the state watch list can seek waivers from local health officials if they have plans for keeping students and staff safe and meet certain criteria. But the state says school reopenings can't be considered in counties with the highest rates of COVID-19 infection.
Sacramento County is currently on the state's watch list and is not issuing school waivers for in-person education or activities.
Public health officials say they learned Capital Christian welcomed back students under the guise of daycare services last week. Classes included students in all grades, including those in high school.
Capital Christian appears to have found a loophole because state guidance does not expressly prohibit high school students from attending in-person education in a daycare setting.
Regardless of the grade level being taught, Sacramento County has told Capital Christian to follow California's School and School-Based Program Guidance.
Sacramento County Public Health told the school, in accordance with the state and county health orders, to immediately end in-person learning to mitigate the public health crisis related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
If the school does not follow orders and continues to allow students to attend classes in person, the school may be subject to civil fines up to $1,000 per day, plus any incurred costs, and even imprisonment.
“We take the health and safety of our community seriously. We simply cannot risk having gatherings that will create clusters of COVID-19 transmission,” said Dr. Peter Beilenson, Sacramento County Department of Health Services director. “We have lost the lives of 219 residents and another 250 are hospitalized right now. Transmission of COVID-19 is preventable, but as of today, there have been 14,600 confirmed COVID-19 cases in our County – with hundreds of new cases a day. We have to do better and it takes all of us to prevent the spread of this deadly virus.”
ABC10 has reached out to the school for comment.