Hundreds of Oakland students are once again planning a boycott of classes on Tuesday to show their frustration with the school district's handling of the omicron variant.
The boycott comes in the wake of teacher sickouts in Oakland earlier this month.
"There was a teacher led one, this is the students now saying: Changes have to be made," Oakland Unified School District high school teacher Brandon Johnson told KCBS Radio.
Around 1200 students have signed an online petition calling on the school district to, among other changes, conduct twice weekly COVID testing at all campuses and provide high quality masks to all students. If those demands are not met, the students are calling for a return to distance learning.
Johnson said he has mixed emotions about that set of demands. "For some of our students, (in-person school) is a safe place for them and for the parents, it's a big burden," he said.
He added that he's doing everything he can to keep his students from catching the virus.
"I have a door open and windows open. I have two cleaners, I have disinfectants," Johnson said. "It would be nice if they could hire more staff to sanitize the room and wipe the doors down.”
Some teachers also plan to call out sick on Tuesday in solidarity with students.
"The district is aware of a petition that some OUSD students are circulating. We share the students' concern about the spike in omicron cases of COVID-19," Oakland Unified said in a statement released on Monday.
Officials said many of those student demands have already been met as robust testing is in place, and KN-95 masks are being distributed to many schools.
"We are already meeting, or are in the process of meeting, most of the demands noted in this petition. And we will continue to work towards fulfilling the rest in the coming weeks."
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