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123RF.com
Education Dive
Will climbing coronavirus cases derail school reopenings?
In a Senate committee hearing Tuesday, lawmakers and health experts
said while reopening schools is important, increasing COVID cases are
cause for concern.
Naaz Modan
July 1, 2020
In a U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
hearing Tuesday morning, health experts and legislators agreed sending
children back to school should be a top goal for the country as states
enter varying phases of reopening. However, with a number of states
seeing a resurgence of cases, reopening in many places is still
uncertain despite schools nationwide planning for some degree of
in-person fall instruction.
"I’m not satisfied with what’s going on, because we’re going in the
wrong direction," Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute
of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said of the surge in cases, which
he suggested could reach 100,000 per day. "Clearly we are not in total
control right now."
Some Democratic lawmakers agreed, saying recent efforts to reopen
states while maintaining health and safety guidelines have backfired.
"Our strategies haven't worked," Sen. Patty Murray (D-Washington) said.
Some places reverse or remain silent as pressure builds
Fauci suggested an "all-or-nothing" mentality, where people either
stayed in lockdown or ventured outside without following any
precautions, are factors behind the spike in cases.
Dan Domenech, executive director of AASA, The School Superintendents
Association, told Education Dive he is worried about a similar trend
when schools reopen.
"Unfortunately, some of the states jumped ahead to open businesses —
guidelines be damned — only to see now there is a substantial increase
all of a sudden in infections," Domenech said. "Our concern is that the
same thing could happen to schools."
He also pointed out budget shortfalls and lack of federal funding are
making it difficult for schools nationwide to reopen with the necessary
precautions in place.
In California, where the decision to reopen is left up to individual
school districts, Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent
Austin Beutner said in an announcement Monday no decision has been made
about in-person instruction. The district joined five others in May,
warning California Gov. Gavin Newsom in a letter that budget cuts could
result in delayed opening.
Superintendents, Domenech said, are caught between "a rock and a hard
place," with building pressure from state leaders, parents and teachers
— who, in many cases, hold opposing views as to how and when
brick-and-mortar schools should restart.
According to a poll from Caissa, a public strategy firm for public
schools, 61% of parents are likely or very likely to consider changing
schools in the fall if their safety expectations go unmet. Meanwhile,
teacher unions have said they would consider striking or simply not
returning to work if schools reopen.
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