Smart Learning Institute

THE AMERICAN FEDERATION of Teachers, the 1.7-million member teachers union, issued guidance Wednesday for how and when schools should safely reopen, slamming President Donald Trump for his comments to governors suggesting they look at opening schools.

"Our blueprint serves as a stark contrast to the conflicting guidance, bluster and lies of the Trump administration," said AFT president Randi Weingarten.

The 20-page guidance, which Weingarten said would evolve as the status of the coronavirus epidemic evolves, includes five major recommendations:
Maintaining physical distancing until the number of new cases declines for at least 14 consecutive days.
Establishing the infrastructure and resources to test, trace and isolate new cases.
Deploying the public health tools that prevent the virus' spread.
Including workers, unions and parents in all planning in order to tackle each community's unique challenges related to COVID-19.
Continued federal, state and local investment in public schools.
The guidance comes on the heels of remarks by the president earlier this week during a phone call with governors, during which he said they should "seriously consider" opening schools and "maybe get going on it."

"I think the schools are going to be open soon," Trump added during the daily White House coronavirus briefing. "I think a lot of governors are already talking about schools being open."

The remarks enraged national education leaders, who skewered the president for not appointing an educator to the White House task force focused on reopening the economy.

In a set of recommendations for reopening the country released by the White House April 16, reopening schools was part of the second phase, behind rolling back social distancing policies and reopening some businesses.

As it stands, schools are closed for more than 55 million children across the country. Governors in more than 40 states have ordered schools shuttered for the remainder of the academic year, and only a handful have begun thinking about how and when to reopen. In California, for example, Gov. Gavin Newsom floated the idea to open schools in July.

The guidance from the American Federation of Teachers acknowledges that schools play a pivotal role in reopening the economy, as most parents cannot go back to work unless schools reopen – an inconvenient truth at the heart of the debate around when it's safe for school buildings to open.

The guidance also acknowledges that the pandemic has exposed and is worsening inequalities baked into the education system, and the faster school buildings can open, the better it will be for the country's most vulnerable students, while also underscoring the recklessness of opening too soon and risking a second, perhaps even more devastating second surge.

"America is staring down a singular challenge that will require all of us to come together and negotiate a safe path forward," Weingarten said. "We hope this blueprint will be the start of a real discussion on reopening schools, universities and other workplaces that allows our workers and families not only to dream of a safe and welcoming future, but to realize it."
Source:https://www.usnews.com/news/education-news/articles/2020-04-29/teachers-union-blasts-trump-lays-out-plan-for-reopening-schools