As back-to-school time approaches and the debate over how, or if, students should return to classrooms this school year, former Vice President and presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden laid out his “roadmap to reopen the schools safely, Friday afternoon, asking Congress to provide an influx of funds to help students get back to the classroom.
“Everyone wants our schools to be open. The question is how to make it safe, how to make it stick. Forcing educators and students to return to a classroom, to areas where the infection rate increases or remains very high, is simply dangerous, “Biden said in a video posted alongside his plan.
The former vice president outlined five focus areas on his roadmap, including ensuring that schools have the necessary funds to enable in-person learning for students, and asked Senate Republicans and Trump to allocate the $ 58 billion to local school districts to stabilize public education. That was included in the HEROES Act approved by the Chamber.
Biden also calls for an additional $ 30 billion emergency funding package to “ensure schools have the additional resources they need to effectively adapt to COVID-19.”
“This package should include funds for child care providers and public schools, particularly Title I schools and Indian schools, for personal protective equipment; public health and sanitation products; custody and health services; and alterations in the building’s ventilation systems, classrooms, hours, class size, and transportation, ”stipulates Biden’s plan.
“If you don’t have that ability, I think opening the school is too dangerous,” Biden said in an interview this week, referring to the schools’ ability to create a socially distant learning environment for students and teachers. “That is why we need national leadership to establish what the conditions are for opening schools and what makes them safe.”
Along with emergency funding, Biden is also asking for $ 4 billion to be allocated for technology improvements, including broadband Internet access.
The former vice president’s plan would also create “basic and objective criteria to guide state, tribal, and local officials to decide whether the reopening can be safely administered in their communities” and through the Centers for Disease Control and other federal agencies. , and create a White House-led initiative to create policy solutions that address education gaps for low-income students and communities of color that have focused amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Biden’s plan comes amid a strident push by President Trump and his administration for schools to reopen completely this fall despite persistent public health concerns and a surge in COVID-19 cases in several states.
On Thursday, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany argued that ”
“Science is on our side here. And we encourage localities and states to simply follow science and open our schools. It is very harmful to our children, “said McEnany.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released guidelines earlier this month to reopen amid concerns about the coronavirus, advising schools to keep desks six feet away, to close communal areas such as cafeterias. and playgrounds and for kids to wear face covers and schools.
But those guidelines were quickly criticized by President Trump as “very harsh” and “expensive,” prompting the CDC to begin developing a new set of recommendations, which have yet to be released.
In a fact sheet accompanying the plan, the Biden campaign deterred the Trump administration from failing to come up with a plan fast enough to control the virus so that students can safely return to the classroom, and advocated a cautious approach. that gives states and localities flexibility.
“We had a window to do this well. And Trump ruined it. His administration ignored the experts and failed to take the necessary steps to reduce infections in our communities. As a result, the cases have exploded, ”says the fact sheet. “If we do this wrong, we will risk lives and roll back our economy and our country.”
Biden’s plan was praised Friday by the National Education Association (NEA), the nation’s largest labor union that backed Biden’s main campaign, who criticized President Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.
“The safety of our students and educators should not be political, but unfortunately once again we see that Donald Trump and Betsy DeVos are playing politics with the lives of our students and educators by threatening to withhold non-yielding school funds. their intimidation, ”NEA President Lily Eskelsen García wrote Friday.
“Biden is listening to parents and educators across the country on how to safely reopen schools, while listening to doctors and local public health officials to determine when and where it is safe to reopen school buildings,” he added.
The plan also comes as two of the country’s largest public school systems have already announced significant adjustments to their school years amid the ongoing pandemic.
Earlier this week, Los Angeles announced that when classes resume on August 18, students will be completely remote indefinitely.
In September, New York City plans to start the year on a hybrid model, with students attending school both in person and online, the city announced last week.
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