“No one is compelling anybody,” Newsom said Monday. “We’re creating conditions where we expect in-person instruction. We’re going to provide supports, supplementary supports for people with compromised immune systems, people that are not comfortable going back in,” he told reporters.

“That flexibility is not just ventilation, it’s not just PPE, it’s not just sanitation, it’s also personnel to help address those concerns as well,” he said in response to a reporter’s question on whether the funding assisted with additional substitute teacher’s in lieu of absent teachers.

Newsom’s remarks went largely unnoticed at first but gained renewed attention on social media Wednesday, by frustrated parents who want to see increased policies surrounding in-person teaching.