Government schools and their unions are attempting to hold billions of taxpayer dollars hostage by claiming children shouldn’t go back to school this fall. The state and local governments are already taking a massive hit from the forced economic shutdown, but unions see this as an opportunity to get more of the money for themselves. So who will they ask? The Democratic Party of course.
Some states and school districts are rotating children through schools, or phasing in in-person instruction a few grade levels at a time. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, for example, has ordered all public schools to offer in-person instruction to all students this fall five days a week, allowing them to decide whether it be online, in person, or some in combination. Florida’s education commissioner has said that when schools open, they’ll really open.
Florida has demanded that their schools not only open but also provide the full array of services that are required by law so that families who wish to educate their children in a brick and mortar school full time have the opportunity to do so. This requires that the services also be provided to students from low-income families, students whose parents are migrant workers, students who are homeless, have disabilities, are living in foster care, or are learning English.
New York, on the other hand, has just announced they will not offer full-time in-person instruction this fall. Children will be in school three or fewer days per week. Then there’s the Washington Office of the Superintendent of Schools saying they will prioritize black students over white in getting them back into the classrooms. I don’t like to use the term ‘racist’ lightly but…that’s pretty racist.
Schools anticipate using more technology in the classroom, isolated lunches, staggered schedules, and the possibility that the school district could return to remote learning at any point. Students in DC public schools, which spend $28,000 per student per year, might go to school as little as one day per week. Schools in Virginia public schools, which spend $16,000 per student per year, will allow families to choose either fully online schooling or two days per week of in-person instruction this fall.
All of these plans are subject to change whenever the governors change their minds. They will do so frequently and add more stress to the lockdowns, the government’s micromanagement, and the working parents trying to figure out what to do with their kids this fall.
There’s not a push to get kids back into school and it’s pretty scary. Many parents are choosing to homeschool this year rather than subject to a full year of schooling chaos like parents experienced this fall. American kids and families deserve way more than the politically driven Democrats and public officials who are setting back kids between half to a full year academically.
Taxpayer dollars aren’t meant to be spent in “online schooling” where the products aren’t even halfway as decent as in-person instruction. If this is the only option this year, then taxpayers should be getting a significant discount rather than demands for more money during a recession.
We already know children are at the lowest risk of coronavirus than any other group. The children’s needs should be prioritized over adults’.
President Trump has the legal authority to impound appropriated funds and he’ll yank the funds if schools continue to fulfill their duties to the public. Federal funding doesn’t need to exist if the public officials refuse to open in-person education, being that the funding exists to support that exact in-person education.
