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“I want to safely reopen schools,” Newsom said. “I don’t want to do it episodically. I want to do it in a sustainable way. I believe you can safely reopen schools in this environment.”

Newsom pointed to the Safe Schools for All framework launched Jan. 14 to streamline the reopening process. It includes $6.6 billion in funding for everything from personal protective equipment and building ventilation to learning loss. He offered several examples of how districts could make decisions at the local level to help students who fell behind during the pandemic, including extending the school day or the school year into the summer or increasing support by hiring additional counselors.

California’s reopening effort is focused on bringing the youngest children and those with special needs into the classrooms, Newsom said.

“I’m very concerned about the equity lens in terms of this conversation, because so many private schools are open,” he said. “I believe we can safely reopen public schools to in-person instruction with the appropriate level of safety and support and accountability in terms of enforcing the rules … and we are committed to doing that in partnership with the Legislature.”

In response to a question about some teachers’ unions calling for vaccines as a prerequisite to returning to classrooms, Newsom said the state is prioritizing teachers in its vaccine process, with education staff falling in Phase 1B, the category of essential workers.

“What we believe is exactly what the CDC, Dr. Fauci, the Biden administration believes … that we can safely reopen schools as we process a prioritization to our teachers of vaccinations and still keep our teachers, our paraprofessionals, bus drivers, janitors, cafeteria workers, safe. And keep our students safe at the same time,” said Newsom, referring to increasing data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that schools can safely reopen without vaccinating all teachers.

The governor shared recent COVID-19 case numbers from California schools that he said prove reopening is safe.

“Let me be specific: In January, we had 87 reported positive cases in our schools,” he said. “That’s down from where we were in November-December despite January being a record month in terms of community spread and positivity.”

While the state posts the number of daily positive cases across the state online, it doesn’t break down school data. The California Board of Education didn’t immediately respond to a request for additional information on the winter COVID cases, including whether they included both students and teachers.

Newsom also provided an overview of the pandemic in the state and shared promising numbers. There were 10,501 new cases reported Feb. 2. The seven-day test positivity rate is 6.1%, down from 14.3% in early January. Hospitalizations dropped 30% over the past two weeks.

But as California’s most deadly pandemic surge eases, the state struggles with vaccine shortages in a race to vaccinate its residents.

The state of nearly 40 million residents has administered more than 3.5 million doses, significantly boosting the daily number of shots it was giving out just weeks ago, Dr. Mark Ghaly, California’s health and human services secretary, said Tuesday at his weekly briefing.

But it still lags behind other U.S. states in vaccinations, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and desperate residents report ongoing problems trying to schedule an appointment as state officials attempt to craft a system that protects the most vulnerable.

California’s rollout has been bumpy and chaotic, marked by differing county rules and a shortage of doses. The Biden administration has pledged to ramp up delivery, and on Tuesday, CVS pharmacies announced it would start inoculating people in some California stores next week.

Newsom also announced new mass vaccine sites at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum and California State University, Los Angeles, slated to open Feb. 16.