Biden, Trump camps take their stands on reopening our schools
As teachers and their unions question the viability of returning to school in the Pittsburgh region after a significant rise in COVID-19 cases here in July, Donald Trump and Joe Biden are making their case to stakeholders as to what the reopening should look like.
The Biden campaign deployed Jill Biden, the candidate’s wife, to speak with Pittsburgh teachers in a virtual round-table this past week, insisting that the former vice president — a “partner to all educators” — would institute a strategic plan centered around emergency funding to schools, instituted by a secretary of education that’s a teacher by trade.
Mr. Trump’s administration, meanwhile, continues to support school choice, emphasizing — through White House statements — that “if schools do not reopen, funding should follow students so parents can send their child to the private, charter, religious, or home school of their choice.”
The presidential candidates’ public statements come as one of the country’s biggest teachers unions, the American Federation of Teachers, is reassuring local chapters like the one in Pittsburgh that if they decide to strike over insufficient safety measures in their schools, they’ll be supported, according to the Associated Press.
Guidance issued by the union says that for schools to reopen, they’ve got to be in areas with lower virus rates, must require mask-wearing, keep students separated and update ventilation systems — demands that the AP reported will be hard for many schools that don’t have the necessary funds, the union said.
The political messaging also comes as the Pittsburgh Public Schools finalize their health and safety plan, which would give students the option to go to class online-only, or complete a two-day-aweek in-person instruction with three days online. For in-person learning, attendees will be required to social distance and wear masks, among other measures and with limited exceptions.
Nina Esposito-Visgitis. president of the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers, said everyone wants schools to fully reopen for in-person instruction — which Mr. Trump’s administration has called for, in full — but that leaders need to create the conditions for it to happen safely. Mr. Biden, she said, believes that those decisions should be made by state and local officials with a reliance on scientific evidence.
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., a frequent surrogate for Mr. Biden’s campaign, said the former vice president’s plan is based on “fundamentals” that are hard to disagree with, and stands in stark contrast to Mr. Trump’s — a contrast that should be emphasized in an election year.
“When it comes to education, we know that the steps that [Mr. Biden has] outlined will be part of the policy he will implement to make sure
our kids are safe and our educators are safe as well,” Mr. Casey said.
Mr. Biden’s plan is separated into five steps, starting with getting COVID-19 under control. He calls for a set of national safety guidelines — “basic, objective criteria” that local stakeholders can use to decide how reopening can be best administered. This includes districts getting the emergency funding they need to so they can take preventative steps, according to the plan, and that they have the necessary protective equipment for students and staff.
That funding, says the Biden camp, should come partly from the HEROES Act, passed by the Democrat-controlled House and providing $58 billion for local districts. It should also come from a separate package, which the campaign says “should include funding for child care providers and public schools — particularly Title I schools and Indian schools — for personal protective equipment; public health and sanitation products; custodial and health services; and alterations to building ventilation systems, classrooms, schedules, class size, and transportation.”
Mr. Trump is asking Congress to allocate funding to education in the next relief package, with some of the money reserved for schools that reopen, the White House said. The administration, in its literature, says that without in-person instruction, “educators are ... unable to monitor important learning deficits, as well as report signs of abuse and address mental health problems,” among other consequences.
The choice
The president’s reelection campaign is framing the disagreement between Mr. Trump and Mr. Biden as the choice between opening schools or keeping them closed.
“Safely reopening schools is critical to reopening our economy and President Trump is the only one who has been working around the clock to make sure students are back in school as parents head back to work,” Trump Victory Spokeswoman Melissa Reed said in a statement. “Meanwhile, Joe Biden wants to keep our schools and economy closed simply to hurt President Trump’s re-election.”
Mr. Casey said the decision to open schools isn’t going to be made by the White House, but by communities and districts.
“Sometimes, states will have a more direct role, but this is going to be a local decision and teachers and parents and educators are going to make the right decision,” Mr. Casey said, insisting that stakeholders aren’t looking for a dictate from Washington, but leadership, compassion and commitment to education instead of “some kind of political agenda.”
On the call with Ms. Biden, Scott Mandarino, a teacher at Pittsburgh Faison, said the challenges he and his colleagues have faced during the pandemic “[pale] in comparison” to what their students faced, from food insecurity to a lack of adequate technology.
“I don’t have a problem going back to work — long as the infection rates are low [and] schools have the appropriate public health safeguards and the adequate resources to implement those safeguards,” Mr. Mandarino said.