Saying “re-open schools now” is not a plan for re-opening them safely. Any leader concerned with BOTH the education AND safety of children and teachers will have a plan for it happening safely. Here are some of the questions any plan should answer:
Is there enough PPE and testing available for all teachers and staff to be able to regularly change PPE and regularly test? Is the government paying for all that? If not, will pay be increased to compensate for the extra cost of teachers having to do what they government said they would do months ago?
Do you have a formal testing protocol for teachers? How often will teachers be tested, given that we know more than half of infections are spread through asymptomatic people, waiting for symptoms is an absolute disaster in the making?
If a teacher tests positive, what is the protocol? Are they required to quarantine for 2 weeks? Will they get paid sick leave for that time?
What is your testing protocol for students? How often will they be tested? What is required if they are positive? Will someone be required to teach them remotely during this time so they don’t fall behind? Who is going to do that teaching?
If a teacher or student test positive, is everyone they were in contact with then automatically tested also? What is the protocol? Who is going to pay for the testing? What happens during the 3-day lag time to get results?
What if someone in the teacher’s family tests positive? Does the teacher have to quarantine? Does the teacher get paid for that time off?
How many substitute and part-time teachers are being screened and prepared for all the time teachers will have to be out due to these situations? Is the school system or state prepared?
How will safety standards for isolation of contacts of infected individuals work when one positive student or teacher will shut down an entire classroom, and maybe a grade or school?
What preparations are being made for student mental health & the stress of the new environment? What is in place for helping students cope with the death of a teacher (yes, teachers will die)?
What mental health support is available for teachers who will be working in an extremely high stress environment?
Finally… has the local government opened in a way that allowed them to hit each safety benchmark?
Is the local community currently within safe re-opening benchmarks, including masking and distancing?
ALL STOP – If you are an elected official who has re-opened in a way that is unsafe by Trump’s own opening guidelines, why the hell are you pushing to open schools, thereby further endangering students and teachers?
Any leader pushing for a re-opening of schools without these questions answered is not a leader of any sort and should not be trusted with a position of public service.
BONUS QUESTION FOR PARENTS: Have you been masking and social distancing? Will you do so and/or quarantine in two weeks before school starts and continue doing so during the entire school year so your child’s teacher and classmates are not endangered by your “freedom”?
Patrick On Politics 