U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said he thinks schools could reopen this spring in many parts of the country for five-day-a-week face-to-face education.
In an interview with CNN, host Jake Tapper asked when the education secretary thinks schools could resume full attendance.
“As soon as possible.” Cardona replied, “I think, in many places, we could be fully open this spring.”
He added that he believes there is no substitute for face-to-face instruction.
A study submitted to Congress Friday (March 12) by the nonprofit COVID Collaborative, the Walton Family Foundation, the American Enterprise Institute and others shows that “Closing schools should be a measure of last resort, and communities should only do so after all other (outbreak) mitigation measures have been implemented first. In this case, it should be extremely urgent to reopen schools as quickly and safely as possible.”
According to Burbio, Iowa, Montana, Wyoming and Florida have reopened 100 percent of their schools as of February. Meanwhile in Oregon, California, New Mexico and Maryland, about 85 percent of schools are still teaching remotely.
“I know there are schools that are currently operating full days for all students and are five days a week, and we need to continue to expand (the number of open schools) and make sure we give students as many opportunities to learn in school as possible,” Cardona told Tapper.
“My biggest priority is to make sure we do everything we can to move from distance learning to face-to-face learning five days a week as soon as possible across the country,” he added.
Cardona also said he is confident that more schools will reopen after the passage of President Joe Biden‘s $1.9 trillion U.S. aid package.
Previously, the Biden Administration had sent inconsistent signals about reopening schools. During his campaign, Biden vowed to see face-to-face classes in schools restored if elected. Last December, Biden said his goal was to ensure that “most schools” would open within 100 days of his taking office.
But in a plan to combat the outbreak of the Chinese Communist virus (NCCV) released on Biden’s first day in office, the White House lowered the bar, saying the goal would apply only to “most K-8 schools” and not to high schools.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki explained Feb. 9 that Biden’s goal was to have most schools – that is, more than 50 percent – reopened at least one day a week (for face-to-face instruction) by the 100th day of his presidency.
Biden recommitted in late February that most elementary schools would be reopened by the end of his first 100 days in office, and five days a week.
The city of San Francisco, California, on Feb. 11 asked a judge to order the schools to reopen face-to-face instruction immediately, saying the continued closures violate children’s constitutional rights and have created a mental health crisis that has led to a dramatic increase in student suicides.
San Francisco Attorney Dennis Herrera said in an emergency motion that the continued closure of the school “catalyzes a mental health crisis for school-aged children.
The motion states that UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital has seen a 66 percent increase in emergency room admissions of suicidal children; a doubling of youth hospitalizations for eating disorders; and a 75 percent increase in youth seeking mental health services in the face of school closures. 75% who required immediate hospitalization.
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