MA Education Chief Wants To Bring Students Back To Classroom ASAP

MASSACHUSETTS — Gov. Charlie Baker agreed that school districts should start bringing back elementary students for full-time, in-person learning as soon as April, as the commissioner of the Department of Secondary and Elementary Education proposed Tuesday.

"It continues to be vital to get as many students back in school as possible, preferably before the end of the year," education department Commissioner Jeff Riley said.

Baker said the pandemic has been tough on everyone, especially students.

"But it’s been really tough on kids, and their parents, as they struggle to be out of the classroom and detached from their teachers and their peers," Baker said.

When the coronavirus pandemic began, the state education board allowed districts to implement remote and hybrid learning to meet learning time regulations. Riley said he plans to ask the board to amend those regulations to give him the authority to determine when the hybrid and remote learning models no longer count for learning hours.

Riley said it's part of his broader plan to return more students to in-person learning this spring, assuming coronavirus cases continue to decrease. He said the return plan would be in phases, starting with the youngest students.

"At some point, as health metrics continue to improve, we will need to take the remote and hybrid learning models off the table and return to a traditional school format," Riley said.

He said other factors — including vaccines, pool testing and warmer weather — mean it's time to plan for students to return to the classroom.

Riley and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have recommended keeping students and teachers 3 feet to 6 feet from one another. Riley said that anecdotally there hasn't been evidence it has made a difference in COVID-19 virus exposure.

"The science is pretty clear on this one," Baker said. "There are now dozens of reports from all over the world that it's safe to be in school. Doctors and public health experts, including Dr.[Anthony] Fauci, all agree that getting kids back in school needs to be a top priority."

'We Agree With Biden'

President Joe Biden has said his administration is focused on opening most schools for students in kindergarten through eighth grade five days a week for in-person learning by the end of his first 100 days in office.

"We agree with President Biden, it is time to get our kids back to school more robustly," Riley said.

'Bait and Switch'

The Massachusetts Teachers Association has been critical of school reopening plans during the pandemic and has pushed for regular testing and vaccinations for teachers.

Association President Merrie Najimy blasted the proposal, calling it a ploy to take attention off criticism surrounding the vaccine rollout in the state.

“This is simply a bait-and-switch move by Gov. Baker, attempting to take the spotlight off his massive failure with the vaccine rollout, including not having a plan to vaccinate educators," Najimy said in a phone interview.

Baker pushed back on that Tuesday, saying Massachusetts was No. 1 in the country when it comes to "first doses per capita among our peer states that have more than 5 million people," he said. "That's 24 states that are basically our size or bigger, and we've been a top 10 player for the past two or three weeks. I would hate to distract from that information."

The union was expecting Baker to greenlight its The Last Mile Vaccine Delivery Proposal, Tuesday, she said.

"That would go a long way to giving educators, who are already teaching in person, the added layer of protection that the CDC is calling for," Najimy said.

Baker and Riley said Fauci has indicated vaccinations for teachers are not necessary to resume in-person learning.

The teachers association has not felt included in these types of decisions, she said, adding she was worried about districts with ventilation system issues in schools, testing not being ubiquitous and buildings where students and teachers couldn't comply with a 6-foot distance and get everyone back into the building.

"Then there's this new variant we don’t fully understand," she said. "That’s why it’s so critical for educators union to work and plan with districts, and those plans have to be respected. The commission needs to back off and respect the bargaining agreements and the authority that local school districts have to make these decisions."

Exceptions

But Riley said families would still have the option for students to learn remotely through the end of the year and indicated there could be a waiver for school districts that have not allowed students to return to the classroom yet, particularly those in lower-income districts.

Riley also said as of Friday, about half the state's schools —or 157 districts and schools— had opted into the state’s COVID-19 pool testing program that was offered last month to public schools. About 300 schools are expected to begin testing this week, he said, calling it a “important additional layer of mitigation strategy” to keep students and staff members safe.

Board member Matt Hills applauded the effort to have students get back in school full time.

"There's an enormous amount of good news in there for students and their families across the state," Hills said. "Please get it done well before the end of this year, so that we're not even talking about this issue going into the next school year."