Tom Ultican says that we have to face facts. It is not safe to reopen schools.
Ultican recites the politicians and pundits demanding that the schools open on-time, in-person, no excuses, no new funding.
He writes:
These neoliberal forces are promoting the idea that teachers and children must be thrust into an unsafe environment so the world’s economic engines can continue providing decent return on investment. Make no mistake, face to face teaching during this pandemic without proper conditions is fraught with danger.
The politicians eagerly pass legislation to shield schools from litigation in case students or staff become ill or die.
They want the schools open.
When it comes to political malfeasance, Florida is determined not to be outdone. Richard Corcoran, Commissioner of Education, is the former Speaker of the House and a charter school owner. On Monday, he released an order stating, “Upon reopening in August, all school boards and charter school governing boards must open brick and mortar schools at least five days per week for all students …”
The forced school reopening amounts to a conscription putting teachers, students and families at risk. Florida trails only New York and California in confirmed Covid-19 cases and Miami-Dade County is a national leader in cases. At this time, Covid-19 cases in the state are spiking to new record levels.
Obviously, Commissioner Corcoran’s order ignores health and safety. It is driven solely by neoliberal ideology valuing commercial enterprise above human life.
He concludes:
In order to reopen schools safely, there are two non-negotiable imperatives. First, the rampaging virus must be brought under control through testing and robust contact tracing. Second, the US Senate must send schools $245 billion dollars to pay for the social distancing logistics, supplies, staff and transportation enhancements required.
Since there is no way to meet the first requirement and it is unlikely the Republican led Senate will meet the second, let us quit pretending and prepare for better distance learning this fall.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
“In order to reopen schools safely, there are two non-negotiable imperatives.”
Actually, I would like to see a third non-negotiable criteria:
That politicians, federal and/or state dept of ed personnel, district school board members and adminimals that support, mandate and implement the opening of schools before all of the needed epidemiological safeguards shall upon learning of the first innocent child’s death from having contracted Covid19 in the schooling process (including transportation services) shall immediately and publicly commit seppuku or be guillotined in a public square.
Let those who would sacrifice children on the altar of the economy pay for the ensuing murders, and there will be murder, with their own life as it is well known that there are going to be serious consequences, deaths and co-morbidities by opening without those safeguards in place.
By April 2nd a revised total of 3 children had died from Covid-19 in the United States [revised from the 20 that was initially reported.] At that point adult deaths numbered about 65,000. Child deaths due to Covid-19 are literally comparable to dying by being hit by lightning.
Influenza killed about 150 US children over the same period of time.
Don’t pretend that this is about protecting children.
I have to agree with Steve M here. At least at this moment, based on stats and science during the immediate iteration of the pandemic, the danger to children’s physical health is apparently so infinitesimal as not to warrant being the focus of the “don’t reopen” argument. It misses the point entirely, just as do the “reopen now” arguments buttressed by the same exact stats.
The brick&mortar school environment meets a basic public health counter-indicator to reopening: many people together inside for long periods of time. Add to that poor air circulation, and difficulty/ impossibility of social-distancing and/ or face-masking. This puts it on a par with bars, inside dining, full-on religious services and other indoor event venues – all, superspreaders. The danger of reopened schools is to all adults onsite, to children’s adult family members, and to the community at large. The danger to children in particular is profound: we jeopardize the health of the adults on whom their care depends.
Tom needs to get in touch with Carol Burris.
Opening classes for both K-12 and higher ed in a pre-pandemic mode is obviously stupid and dangerous. However laboratory courses really cannot be replicated in an online only format. Some kind of hybrid system for such courses could be safely devised. I feel safe when I go to the grocery store with social distancing, cleaning, masks, etc.
Obviously high school chemistry labs can’t be done at home. Even affluent families don’t have bunsen burners, precision balances and liquid nitrogen at home. Medical students can’t do their anatomy labs on cadavers at home.
“Neoliberal” is right. If this were happening 10 years ago under Dem neoliberals, the approach would be different but results same. Instead of “reopen or we’ll withdraw funding,” we’d be seeing bribery of hard-hit states to reopen in exchange for token funding bonus, a Race to the Top [of covid stats].
Who’d a thunk we’d be hearing echoes of bona fide ed research from bastions of neoliberal, anti-union thinking like The Economist? (linked article):
“Consider the costs of barring children from the classroom. No amount of helicopter parenting or videoconferencing can replace real-life teachers, or the social skills acquired in the playground.”
Gosh, are so many abandoning their long-cherished anti-public-goods stance in a sudden awakening to the needs of the public schools attended by 88% of the nation’s children? Not a chance. Needs, schmeeds. Aren’t those uniformly lousy pubsch teachers the bottom of the ed barrel, mere “babysitters”? Well, yes, but right now we need babysitters. But– as Tultican points out– “There are many unused recreation centers, school facilities, libraries and church facilities available. Forcing children and teachers into an unsafe situation is not the only way to solve the child care dilemma.”