No Classes After Teachers Say They'd Be No-Shows

There'll be no classes Monday after all in Arizona's JO Combs Unified School District. In "an overwhelming response," too many staff members said they don't feel safe going back yet, the superintendent wrote to families. Online classes are canceled, as well, the Hill reports, because of what Gregory Wyman called "a high volume of staff absences for Monday citing health and safety concerns." The district had decided to ignore Arizona's pandemic standards for deciding when students can safely return to class, per Reuters.

"It was great to see JO Combs school district came together and used their collective power," said a kindergarten teacher and protest leader. "I'd love to see a nationwide sickout." Demonstrations on both sides of the issue have taken place recently in Arizona, with parents often demanding schools allow students to return. Wyman said he doesn't know when that will happen in his district. According to state data released last week, per the New York Times, no Phoneix-area county has reached all the required benchmarks for in-person learning to resume. (A school district in Georgia told 900 people to quarantine.)