Amidst a national debate over the appropriate way and time to reopen schools and resume in-person learning during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued school opening guidelines on Friday, February 12.
These CDC guidelines respond to a wave of public officials, congressmen, and healthcare providers across the country calling for the government to reopen schools and re-start in-person learning. The guidelines offer strategies and recommendations for a safe reopening of schools, while stressing the importance of existing mitigation strategies, such as the continuing use of masks and social distancing.
The guidelines are based on three main mitigation components:
1) Consistent implementation of layered mitigation strategies to reduce transmission of
SARS-CoV- 2 in schools;
2) Indicators of community transmission to reflect level of community risk; and
3) Phased mitigation and learning modes based on levels of community transmission.
Additional mitigation layers are also included, such as testing to limit school transmission and outbreaks, as well as vaccination for teachers and school staff, and in communities as supply allows.
The guidelines come a week after the Virginia Senate passed a bill that requires schools to offer both in-person and virtual learning after July 1. Republican Senator Siobhan Dunnavant, who sponsored the bill, said that schools must open and stressed that there's no evidence that supports keeping children at home and not in school.
The Senator is not the only one pushing to resume in-person learning. A survey done by The New York Times with 175 Pediatric Disease Experts found that 86% believe that the vaccination of groups, such as teachers, parents or students, should not be a precondition to open schools. They believe that school closings have led to a mental health crisis that is affecting the younger generations in a more profound way. This has been echoed by parents all over the country who share the same concern for the well-being of their children who have not been able to spend valuable face-to-face time with their friends and loved ones for nearly a year. This becomes even more of a concern during the winter months, when youth tend to spend more time indoors.
Experts fear the long-term mental health effects that the pandemic will have on kids and young adults. In an interview with CBS New York, Dr. Laura Phillips, a neuropsychologist with the Child Mind Institute, shared that it's critical that parents set daily routines for their children that include physical activity, playdates via Zoom, or in-person meetings while social distancing.
However, teacher unions across several states from California to Maryland are still expressing their concerns with resuming in-person learning without implementing additional safety measures to ensure the health and safety of teachers, students, and the community as a whole. The Prince George's County teacher union requested a series of measures including ventilation upgrades in classrooms, COVID-19 testing and contact tracing, vaccinations, and hazard pay for in-person staff. The main concern is for the health and safety of educators, especially following January reports from the American Federation of Teachers noting that they were aware of at least 530 teacher deaths related to COVID-19.