Today Senate Republicans passed a resolution to allow school districts to decide the best option for their students this fall. A bill to provide $25 million in grants to reopen schools was stopped by Senate Democrats refusal to support bringing the bill to the floor. 

“Today, the Minnesota Senate took a critical step to empower our local communities and school districts to choose the best education plans moving forward for their children as we deal with the ongoing pandemic,” said Senator Dan Hall (R-Burnsville).  “We know that the risks of not having face-to-face learning are especially high for young children, who will suffer long-term consequences academically and socially. While threats of the virus remain, we should not allow for one executive decision to rule all our communities who are facing this virus differently. Rather than take that approach, why would we not empower out communities to think of safe and creative ways to get kids back to learning.”

 The resolution states that, for the purposes of emergency powers during the COVID pandemic, the Governor cannot make unilateral decisions to open or close schools. School size, transportation needs, special education needs, and technology access will all be different in each district, and this resolution empowers each community to decide what will work best for them this fall. 

Recent studies have argued the benefit of reopening schools safely this fall is important for the overall well-being of our students. The American Association of Pediatrics has said, “The AAP strongly advocates that all policy considerations for the coming school year should start with the goal of having students physically present in school. The importance of in-person learning is well-documented, and there is already evidence of the negative impacts on children because of school closures in the spring of 2020.” 

Parents have weighed in on the issue as well. Nine out of ten parents surveyed by Education Trust reporting that they were worried about their child falling behind due to COVID-related closures. The Minnesota Department of Education’s survey found 64% of parents want students back in schools this fall.