FAQ

How do you all, as parents, feel about the safety of in-person learning?

Every family must balance the the academic, social and emotional benefits associated with returning their children to schools against the risks of COVID-19. Some students and their families will handle remote learning well.. For other children, the physical and mental harm of the remote setting outweighs the COVID-19 related risks at school.

I don't feel safe for my child to go back to school. Why do you insist schools should reopen?

We want students to have the option to go back. Students comfortable in a remote setting should be able to remain in that setting.

What about concerns around the health of our teachers, particularly those who are older or have conditions that make them more vulnerable?

We’re advocating for schools to be declared an essential service, so that the State, the districts and everyone in the community is aligned on which services should be prioritized. This will also help ensure that our educators have access to PPEs and vaccines and our schools are adequately prepared to follow DOH and L&I safety protocols.

The experiences from districts across the nation and around the globe have shown that it is possible to reopen schools safely for children and educators.

Should we be worried that students might transmit COVID-19 to family members, particularly older relatives or those with weakened immune systems?

Every family must balance the upsides associated with returning their children to schools and their parents returning to work against the risks of transmitting COVID-19. We believe it is wrong to continue asking our young to be the ones to carry the burden of this pandemic. Children and their education should be our first priority. That’s why we should provide both in-person learning and remote learning options.

What if opening now would increase the numbers and force to close again?

School setting is not a driver of the spread of COVID-19 among students and the community at large. Studies after studies have shown that re-opening schools has not led to increases in community transmission and on the contrary schools are generally a much safer environment than the surround community with much lower transmission rate.