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Education Dive
Alexander: 'Schools should plan for COVID to last at least a year'
Naaz Modan
June 11, 2020
Dive Brief:
In a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee hearing
Wednesday, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tennessee), who chairs the
committee, outlined a few of the challenges schools across the country
are facing during the coronavirus pandemic, including:
Limited space in public schools for social distancing.
Rigid rules for district administrators as a result of state, local and
union rules and regulations that make changes to academics, class size
and schedules difficult.
Creating a mask-wearing and rigorous hygiene culture among younger children.
Systematic testing of children.
Sen. Patty Murray (D-Washington) pointed to costs districts are facing
as a barrier that needs to be addressed. "Schools and school districts
are now facing some of the biggest cuts to state and local revenue that
we have seen in a long time while facing increased costs as a result of
this pandemic," she said. "We need a massive investment in our schools
right now.”
There seemed to be agreement across parties that reopening plans should
address learning loss and the mental health needs of the highest-risk
students, for whom the pandemic is projected to widen achievement gaps.
Denver Public Schools Superintendent Susana Cordova added that in her
district's three draft options, at least 40% of students' time will be
spent learning in person.
Dive Insight:
“Schools should plan for COVID to last at least a year," Alexander
said, adding he is hopeful for a vaccine to be available by spring.
"It’ll likely be the fall of 2021, though, before we begin to approach
normal.”
In Tennessee, Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn said the state
department of education will work with agency partners to provide
personal protective equipment and other resources, like thermometers,
free of charge for all districts. She said the state continues to fully
fund its education budget.
But Nebraska Commissioner of Education Matt Blomstedt warned of
upcoming cuts for school districts. "This is a perfect storm as we face
increased need and decreased resources," he said, adding PK-12 cuts
could exceed 20% in the state.
Recent analyses by AASA, The School Superintendents Association, and
the American Federation of Teachers have suggested an average district
would have to spend an additional $1.2 million to $1.75 million to
reopen schools safely in the fall.
And those expenses are in addition to funds needed to make up for
revenue losses and address cuts that have already cost local education
systems 750,000 jobs, or twice the jobs lost in the Great Recession,
AFT said in its cost analysis press release Wednesday.
Former U.S. Secretary of Education John King Jr. pushed in the Senate
hearing for Congress to increase federal education funding to make up
for losses in local revenue, echoing educators' calls across the
country.
“Without Congressional action, there will be no conceivable way to
avoid layoffs and hiring freezes, disproportionately impacting
educators and staff in high-poverty schools," he said.
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