Utah teachers union requires governor to abandon plan to reopen schools

The state’s largest teachers union is asking Gov. Gary Herbert to keep Utah schools closed this fall, saying it is too dangerous for educators and students to return while coronavirus cases remain high.

The Utah Education Association (UEA) lawsuit comes when districts must submit plans on how they will reopen for weekends. Most offer hybrid options, where some students would come to class while others would receive remote education. But many teachers remain concerned about their safety.

“We simply cannot risk lives unnecessarily by opening schools too soon,” UEA President Heidi Matthews said Tuesday.

Utah is the largest class size in the country, and many educators fear that even with fewer children they will not be able to adequately distance themselves in classrooms, potentially leading to outbreaks. Others say their districts are not doing enough to protect them, as many teachers are considered at high risk for serious complications and death from the virus due to their age or health conditions.

“We call on Governor Gary Herbert to lead science and security and declare that schools in the affected areas will open remotely this fall,” the union wrote in a letter unanimously approved by its board of directors. “We ask that you declare that local school districts are NOT to return to in-person learning until COVID-19 cases decrease.”

The governor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. As of Tuesday, the average number of new seven-day cases was 541, above the average of 500 cases that Herbert had requested on August 1.

The UEA, which represents more than 18,000 educators in the state, aligns with other unions across the country, as well as with the United States National Federation of Teachers, which said Tuesday that educators should strike if their districts do not have adequate security plans.

In Utah, the UEA says that most of the district’s drafts “don’t go far enough” to protect anyone, but especially teachers.

“The lives of our educators are not expendable,” said Matthews. “We have a choice here, and we choose security. There is no acceptable level of risk if that means someone could die. “

There are no plans to strike, although the UEA is pressing for schools to wait to reopen classrooms until coronavirus transmission rates drop. The transmission rate represents how many people will be infected by someone who has the virus, and ideally that would be around 1%, meaning that the number of new infections would remain fairly stable.

But that rate is something few places have accomplished. The union is investigating the Georgia Tech investigation, which shows that only four counties in Utah (Emery, Rich, Piute and Wayne, all rural) would be considered low enough risk level for students to return safely.

The union wants most areas to delay at least in-person instruction and reevaluate them individually and periodically as the school year progresses.

That extra time should be spent developing stronger plans for when they really do reopen, he said. The union specifically wants effective contact tracking for schools and stricter mask requirements for students and teachers (the governor’s mandate for that has broad exemptions). They are also calling for strict sanitation. Everything, the UEA said, must be planned and approved with the help of health experts and teachers.

And there should be an additional focus on educator safety because they are at greater risk than most students, although children still transmit the virus and can carry it to older relatives. “Overall, we are seeing an absence of discussion about employee-related rights and working conditions,” added Matthews, such as sick leave or risk pay.

The UEA generally doesn’t make demands at the state level, so Tuesday’s forceful statement is somewhat surprising.

Matthews said she felt compelled to act because many teachers are eager for the school starting next month. At this time, she added, plans for the reopening are unsystematic, with some successes and many flaws.

The Salt Lake City School District, for example, has not yet approved how it will return. Meanwhile, the neighboring Canyons school district offers 100% online or wholly in person, without intermediaries, and 25 teachers have resigned as a result, a spokesperson there confirmed. The Davis School District was previously to reopen normally, but switched to a hybrid schedule that educators say still leaves them exposed.

On Tuesday, another group protested outside the Jordan School District, which plans to keep the school in person for four days a week with Friday classes away.

“It does not allow or foresee any kind of social distancing,” said district union president Kelly Giffen. “You are just magnifying your exposure.”

The Jordan Education Association agrees with the UEA not to reopen. But if in-person classes resume, the smaller union would like to have the children alternate days or times at school so there are no large gatherings.

“That would go a long way toward making our teachers feel safer and more comfortable,” added Giffen.

At the rally, about 35 people came and held signs saying, “Teach online until the numbers drop” and “Keep us safe.” They all wore masks.

At the same time, Matthews acknowledges that there is no one right answer for everyone. While most teachers represented by the union agree to holding online classes for protection, many in the more rural areas of the state do not and want to return to the classroom. During a virtual discussion conducted by the UEA on Tuesday, a teacher in Vernal stated: “I couldn’t disagree more.”

Matthews also knows that some working parents need a place to take their children and others need a safe place outside the home. Online classes also didn’t work this spring when schools had to close quickly, leaving some students behind.

But he believes some of those problems could be solved with more funding from the Legislature for computers and Wi-Fi and possibly more child care services.

“Utah schools, which are already underfunded, should not be faced with the decision of how to pay for these essentials,” he said.

Matthews also emphasizes that teaching classes remotely is not a permanent decision. She believes it is the safest solution for now, she said, until the pandemic is more under control. The teachers want to go back, she said. They just want to do it without risking their lives.