U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona recently said that schools in many parts of the country will be able to reopen this spring for face-to-face education five days a week. He believes that face-to-face instruction is irreplaceable.
Cardona made the remarks in an interview with CNN. He said there are already schools that are operating full days, and five days a week. To create more opportunities for students to learn in school, places need to continue to expand (the number of open schools) and move from distance learning to face-to-face learning as soon as possible across the country. He said he is confident that more schools will reopen after the passage of President Biden‘s $1.9 trillion bailout relief bill. “That’s a priority for us.”
The states of Iowa, Montana, Wyoming and Florida had all reopened all their schools by February, according to Burbio. But about 85 percent of schools in states such as Oregon, California, New Mexico and Maryland are still teaching remotely.
In an emergency motion filed by San Francisco, California, Attorney General Dennis Herrera said the continued closure of schools violates the constitutional rights of children, catalyzes a mental health crisis among school-age children and will lead to a significant increase in student suicides.
The motion shows data showing that the number of child suicides admitted to the emergency room at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital has increased by 66 percent in one year; the number of adolescents hospitalized for eating disorders has doubled; and in the case of school closures, the number of children seeking There was a 75 percent increase in the number of youth seeking mental health services and requiring immediate hospitalization when school was closed. In response, the city of San Francisco asked a judge on Feb. 11 to order schools to reopen face-to-face instruction immediately.
A study submitted to Congress last Friday (March 12) by the nonprofit COVID Collaborative, the Walton Family Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute also suggests that “Closing schools should be a measure of last resort, and schools should be reopened as soon as safely possible until all other (outbreak) mitigation measures are fully implemented in the community.”
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