Source: United States Senator for Florida Marco Rubio
Remote-only school? No COVID relief dollars for you
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL)
January 14, 2022
Fox News
Across the United States, thousands of children are being deprived of in-person education.
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Schools can and should take commonsense steps to protect teachers and students, just like Florida’s schools have done. But it is clear that keeping kids out of school does more harm than good.
The evidence is relatively unanimous that COVID-19 is of little risk to children and young people, and that the new omicron variant is proving to be less dangerous than previous strains. On the contrary, the data is equally consistent that the disruption associated with quarantines, social isolation, and school closures has been disastrous for our kids.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recently declared a “National Emergency in Child and Adolescent Mental Health” in response to “soaring rates of depression, anxiety, trauma, loneliness, and suicidality.” Moreover, the average student is several months behind in terms of learning standards, and pandemic measures have exacerbated racial disparities in educational achievement.
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In light of these facts, it’s an outrage that COVID-19 relief funding is being funneled into schools that do not offer in-person instruction whatsoever…
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That is why I introduced the Keep Kids in Schools Act of 2022.The bill would prohibit COVID-19 relief funds from going to remote-only schools. For the sake of our children, I hope this is something my colleagues in the Senate—Republicans and Democrats alike—can agree on.
President Joe Biden said that “schools should remain open.” That was fine political punditry, but it’s time to back it with action. The president too should support my bill, and he should tell teachers’ unions across the nation to stand down.
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As terrible as the pandemic has been for adults, closures and social isolation are permanently harmful for the next generation. The adults of today cannot jeopardize America’s future in a futile effort to turn the clock back to the lockdowns of April 2020.
Read the rest here.