Chairman Scott Statement on Trump Administration’s Push for Schools to Prematurely Reopen
WASHINGTON – Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after President Trump urged schools to reopen and threatened to withhold federal funding for those that do not resume normal operations in the fall.
“Given the exacerbated educational inequities and abrupt shift to remote learning caused by the pandemic, it is understandable why students, educators, and communities are both hoping schools will resume normal operations this fall and have some hesitation.
“Even before the pandemic, our nation’s public schools were chronically underfunded. Reopening schools now, without more investment, presents serious risks to the health and safety of our students and educators. Just last month, a government watch dog report revealed that over half of school districts needed to significantly repair or completely replace their ventilation systems. This is particularly important given the CDC guidelines explicitly say schools must have adequate ventilation.
“What’s worse, the administration is now threatening to ignore health experts and issue their own ‘less restrictive’ guidelines, prioritizing politics over the health and safety of students, parents, and educators. This move is not only irresponsible, it is dangerous.
“If the Trump administration wants schools to reopen, it should start by joining House Democrats in supporting the Heroes Act and the Moving Forward Act, which increase investments in state and local funding to help our students, schools, and economy recover.”
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