The United Teachers of Los Angeles issued this statement tonight:
UTLA calls for LAUSD to close schools
Tonight UTLA called on LAUSD Superintendent Austin Beutner to take decisive action to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
“We are calling for the rapid, accelerated, and humane closure of LAUSD schools,” UTLA President Alex Caputo-Pearl said. “Other countries have shown that a proactive — not reactive — approach slows the spread of the virus, makes sure healthcare providers are not crushed with overwhelming demand, and dramatically reduces fatalities.”
As part of the call for school closures, UTLA released 10 Common Good Community Demands to support students and families, including 15 additional paid sick days for all LA County workers, a weekly disaster stipend, and creation of a food supply network.
“The state has a $20 billion reserve and this is exactly the time to tap into that reserve to support students and families,” Caputo-Pearl said. “There is an opportunity here to build a social safety net through our Common Good Community Support demands. Let’s take the opportunity to build those now.”
UTLA’s call for an accelerated timeframe for school closures is supported by the National Union of Healthcare Workers, which represents nurses, medical technicians, and other healthcare experts across the country.
“As a healthcare union representing workers on the front lines of this pandemic, we must take proactive steps to protect our communities,” said Sal Rosselli, president of NUHW. “Although closing schools is a difficult decision, only decisive action will slow the exponential growth of this pandemic and prevent our healthcare system from becoming overloaded.”
Link to the UTLA Statement on the Proactive Closure of LAUSD Schools
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Look at Northern Italy. That’s us in a few weeks.
Our response is entirely inadequate. We’re screwed. We need, immediately, to
close all schools
ban all public gatherings and close all places where people meet in groups–restaurants, bars, theaters, gyms, sporting event venues, museums, libraries, etc.
massively ramp up production of masks, oxygen tanks, hazmat suits, sanitizers , etc
use the military to set up field hospitals in every city
massively increase production of tests and number of testing centers
pass legislation to put an indefinite moratorium on evictions
train medial paraprofessionals, perhaps from among our national guard and other military services, to work under doctors and nurses
urge all businesses that can do so to have employees work from home
equip delivery people with protective gear
establish delivery services for food to poor children and elderly
cancel all visitation to elder care facilities
pass emergency economic legislation to provide sick leave pay for all workers
cancel all nonessential flights, bus travel, train travel
pass emergency economic legislation to provide free means-tested testing and treatment for coronavirus
establish cordon zones for all viral hotspots, with no travel in or out, and ready the military to enforce these
pass emergency economic legislation to compensate small businesses that have to close
establish price controls on essential items
It is extraordinarily doubtful that we shall do these things. And as a result, in a few weeks’ time, we’ll look like Northern Italy, where they are now deciding which patients to treat and which to let die.
This is not a time to have idiots in charge.
A HUGE issue in all of this is home childcare. We need extended family units to be able to designate two people to work half time and do childcare at home halftime, at their normal full-time pay. Not sure of the details of this, but it needs to be figured out, and quickly.
or: Why the economy will be hit as if with a sledgehammer. A huge percent of people will not be working because the kids are at home.
Unless protected by law, many of the home-bound parents will not be paid or will be laid off or both.
This is inevitable.
Diane’s point, that we need legislation NOW to protect parents at home with their kids during this, is extremely important. McConnell has made it clear that he will block any such legislation. If the poor suffer or die, he’s fine with that.
Closing schools in major cities is an absolute waste of time. It will accomplish nothing and I am adamantly opposed to my union’s stance.
So, we close our schools for 2-4 weeks. Then what? The virus is still going to be in the general population and kids will pick it up within a few months of returning to school. We are going to be right back to square one, which is having thousands of persons carrying it throughout the country and the government and health agencies actively avoiding efforts to detect it.
This outbreak is just like the flu, or the common cold, and the response we are seeing is an over reaction. We should be focusing on health education at this time, not closing schools.
It’s not about the symptoms of the virus itself, it’s the pace of the outbreak – it spreads faster than the flu.
I don’t think they believe the virus will be contained at this point, I think they are trying to figure out how best not to spread it quickly so not to overcrowd the hospitals for the many serious cases that will happen.
I do worry about the many children who depend on the food they receive in schools. But I have many students who live in one bedroom apartments with grandparents – the virus becomes a deadly threat to the family.
There are no easy answers.
When I see the National Guard out setting up field hospitals in population centers, I will believe that they are starting to take this seriously. Right now, we have, according to Johns Hopkins, only 46,500 ICU beds nationwide. Not nnearly enough.