Amid mounting evidence that reopening schools is safe, education officials drag their feet

Just the News ^ | July 1, 2020 - 9:49pm | By Daniel Payne

[Hojczyk]

Public officials in the United States are signaling a reluctance to consider fully reopening schools in the fall, expressing worries that doing so may turn schools into viral hotspots and contribute to the further resurgence of the coronavirus.

Those concerns, however, fly in the face of increasing evidence that young children are unlikely to contract coronavirus and are still more unlikely to transmit it either to each other or to adults. Experts, meanwhile, are warning that delaying the reopening of schools could contribute to an ongoing decline in children's well-being as the weeks and months of missed education continue to pile up.

Schools were among the countless facets of American life that came to a grinding halt in mid-March, when most state governors unilaterally ordered entire state educational systems— including private schools — shuttered indefinitely. Many governors initially closed schools temporarily before extending the closures until at least the fall of this year.

Schools in Europe and Asia, meanwhile, have been sending children back for in-person instruction since May and have reported little evidence that schools are meaningful vector spots for COVID-19 transmission. Germany began sending its pupils back in May with some restrictions; educational authorities there announced last month their intent to resume instruction after the summer holidays with relatively few mitigation measures in place, likely a sign that many of the worries over returning children to school there have proven excessive.

[Bon of Babble]

The problem is the liability is too high.

Any staff member or student that catches COVID and has a bad outcome will sue the schools.

[yldstrk]

The problem is they want the paycheck without earning it.

[Polyxene]

Like your tagline says, “BINGO! We have a winner!”

[livius]

It’s the unions. That’s exactly what they want. They’re trying to get huge raises and pension boosts by claiming that going back to the classroom is “too dangerous” for the teachers,

[Thommas]

Any staff member or student that catches COVID and has a bad outcome will sue the schools.

Any judge, with 1930s era (and less) cultural experience and morality, would dismiss such a frivolous lawsuit as being without merit. Sue because you came down with a pandemic flu and you put yourself at common risk, a risk everyone shared? Get outta here!

But today? Let's paralyze the country, crawl into our safe spaces, and let the barbarians trample what is left of the nation.

[Bon of Babble]

The LAUSD superintendent was all over this liability issue, mentioning it frequently in one of his recent updates.

The LAUSD is sued CONSTANTLY over the most trivial of matters - all the way up to and including pedophilia. I’ve seen teachers hauled into court over the most idiotic of reasons - dismissed, yes, eventually, but still had to go through the process - and have their reputation ruined at the same time.

There is an army of lawyers ready, willing and able to sue the “deep pocketed” school district.

Special ed parents are suing the school district b/c their children cannot attend school during the pandemic. Parents of K-3 children are also suing because their children can’t attend school. Distance learning does not work for these two cohorts.

I know b/c I work for this school district.

[Boogieman]

As long as the schools stay closed, the country can’t actually re-open.

For example, in Chicago, the city is officially “open” now. When the pandemic started, traffic on the train downtown during rush hour dropped to the point where I would be the only person on an entire train car that was normally packed. After a few months, there would be maybe 4 people on a car during rush hour. Now, after the official “re-opening”, we are up to maybe 8 people per car. These cars have a capacity of 60 people and are at or above that during normal times.

So, the mayors can say the city is “open”, but by my estimation, it is perhaps 15% open. I expect it will continue around that rate until the schools re-open.

[hanamizu]

My local, semi-rural K-8 school where I taught for 29 years and still sub at, is non-union and is struggling how to figure out how to reopen. Right now, the state (MO) guidelines are stating the following: only one child per seat on the bus, only every other seat on the bus occupied. To comply, they’ll have to buy another bus and hire another driver. Each bus will have to make two runs in the morning and two runs in the afternoon.

This means that students will likely have to be on a staggered schedule. Families with kids in different grades will have to send/receive their children at different times. Lunch will be served in the classroom, not in a lunch room. No gym, no recess, no time for the kids to run, play and socialize with each other.

It goes without saying that each bus, classroom, bathroom, doors, etc. will have to be wiped down everyday and in the case of the buses after every trip.

This is not happening in a blue state with a freak medical director, this is in a state which is pretty much open right now. We’re allowed to leave our homes, eat in restaurants and even have an occasional beer. Some even appear in public without masks.

[Seruzawa]

Well, no one expects school officials to be other than dithering cowards.