CT Teacher Union Asks For Delayed Start To School Year

CONNECTICUT — The Connecticut Education Association teachers union is calling for a number of changes to the state’s school reopening plan as students and teachers get closer to the first day of school.

The CEA, which is Connecticut's largest teacher union, is recommending the state delay the start of the school year by two weeks or until mid-September to improve and expand remote learning. There are also concerns that high temperatures and humidity that are common in late August and early September will make it difficult to keep up face mask compliance.

“The state must revise school reopening plans to protect our school communities, especially in light of new reports confirming that children can readily transmit COVID-19 and may be drivers of the pandemic," said CEA President Jeff Leake in a statement. "Remote learning is still the safest option. Any return to the classroom requires additional precautions, including strict social distancing and access to COVID-19 testing, that are not currently included in the state plan.”

Among some of CEA’s main recommendations are:

• Recommend all-remote learning for districts that have moderate or high infection rates or are unable to maintain six feet of social distancing.
• Providing accommodations for at-risk students, teachers and staff.
• School-centered contact tracing programs.
• Regular coronavirus testing of students and staff.
• Upgrading school HVAC systems to improve air quality.

Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo pushed the school reopening to mid-September. Boston Public Schools also pushed its reopening date back to Sept. 21.

Connecticut’s school reopening plan allows any student to participate in full remote learning if their parents or guardians are uncomfortable with sending them to the physical classroom. However, the matter is less clear for teachers and some school districts are denying remote teaching opportunities to at-risk teachers, according to the CEA.

Gov. Ned Lamont has made several pitches in recent weeks to get students back into the classroom at the start of the school year on at least a hybrid basis. He said during a CBS Face the Nation interview that he didn’t want students to lose a year of schooling, especially for those who don’t log on to remote learning.

"Connecticut continues to lead the nation in our efforts to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 and keep cases drastically low," said Rob Blanchard, spokesman for Lamont. "While the virus hasn’t gone away, we have put in place plans and guidelines that keep students and staff safe, while also doing our best to provide our young people with access to an education that prepares them for the future."

Around 176,000 Connecticut students didn't log in for remote learning for even a single day during the spring, Blanchard said.

"Although we’ve since taken significant steps to equip students to learn from home, we also know that nothing compares to safe, high-quality, in-person education with the nation’s best teachers and other education professionals," Blanchard said. "Ensuring we do not have a lost year of education, the Lamont administration collaborated with public health and medical experts, educators and local school administration leaders to protect the health and safety of everyone who makes contact with our school system."

About 55 percent of local school districts in Connecticut are planning for a full in-person learning experience, while 44 percent are opting for a hybrid plan of in-person and remote. The New Haven Board of Education voted for a full remote start to the school year and is asking the state for an exemption.

The state has made $266 million available for school districts to facilitate the reopening process. It has purchased thousands of laptops for students and established a fund to help support at-home broadband internet access. Dalio Philanthropies also provided funding to donate 60,000 laptops to students earlier in the year.

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Lamont said public health and the safety of students and educators is the priority when it comes to reopening schools and that he wouldn’t allow schools to reopen if the state were in a hotspot location like Florida or Texas.

"If Connecticut can't get their kids back into the classroom safely, no state can," Lamont said last week.

Connecticut has maintained low coronavirus infection activity over the summer and the daily positive test rate hovers around 1 percent. Coronavirus-related hospitalizations have been stable for several weeks as well.

Some of Connecticut’s neighbors including Rhode Island haven’t been as fortunate. Rhode Island briefly landed on tri-state mandatory quarantine list, but has since been removed.

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