USA TODAY International Edition
Our view: Science is clear — prioritize reopening schools
The past year has inflicted devastating lessons on what happens when America’s elected leaders fail to follow the science in making decisions that affect the public’s well- being.
Yet, the ongoing debate about whether to reopen the nation’s public schools shows that those lessons still haven’t been adequately learned. The scientific evidence for safely reopening schools during the COVID- 19 pandemic has been clear for months.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published recommendations last summer ( updated last week) for how schools can restore in- person learning without putting educators and students at undue risk. Those recommendations include wearing masks, social distancing, hand- washing and respiratory etiquette, ventilation and building cleaning, and contact tracing.
In January, CDC said studies found little evidence of COVID- 19 spreading in schools in the USA or other countries. This month, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said the data indicates that schools can safely reopen even before teachers are vaccinated.
The CDC isn’t alone in such guidance. Dr. Ruediger Krech, the World Health Organization’s director of health promotion, said in December that schools can safely reopen.
In July, the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine said school districts should “prioritize reopening schools full time, especially for grades K- 5 and students with special needs,” because the educational benefits outweigh the health risks. That was seven months ago.
Yet President Joe Biden last week backed off from his pledge to reopen most schools during his first 100 days in office. Instead, the White House now says its goal is to have at least 50% of schools open at least one day a week for in- person instruction.
It’s a ridiculously low bar, and one the nation’s schools might already have exceeded. Burbio, which tracks school openings across the country, reported that more than 60% of students attended in- person classes at least part time in January.
Even so, nearly 38% of the nation’s 56.4 million students have access to online instruction only. The learning loss many of those students, especially Black and Latino children, continue to suffer could well wreck their educational and employment opportunities for decades if not remedied.
The best immediate remedy is to get more students back into classrooms. On Tuesday, Biden seemed to understand that need, saying he's still committed to his original goal of having most K- 8 schools open in person five days a week within his first 100 days in office.
The Biden administration, as part of its $ 1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, has proposed funneling an additional $ 130 billion to schools to help them reopen. Those dollars are on top of about $ 68 billion that President Donald Trump and Congress allocated to schools for pandemic relief last year.
The additional funding is needed — and Congress should approve it quickly — to help schools purchase more protective gear, reduce class sizes, improve ventilation systems and take other steps to lower the risk of infection.
Nonetheless, state and school district leaders need to make a return to classroom learning this spring a top priority. Ongoing fears about COVID- 19 are understandable as the nation approaches the grim mark of 500,000 deaths from the coronavirus, but fear can’t be allowed to further harm the education of millions of America’s children.
We must follow the science. And the best science available indicates schools can open safely.