Today I had the honor of testifying on reopening K12 schools for the House Select Committee on the Coronavirus Crisis. Here is what I said. 1/
It was exactly 3 mos ago that I last testified - we had 25-30k cases and >2k deaths daily. I said then that I feared complacency, that we would become numb to the crisis and would again create the conditions that led to us being the worst affected country in the world. 2/
Since then, we have new therapies, we’ve made progress on finding a vaccine, and many more tests are available. But in other ways, the complacency I feared has come to pass. We have 55k+ new cases daily, and deaths are again rising. 3/
We still don’t have the testing capacity to enable the test-trace-isolate that will help us to get ahead. The greater the prevalence of disease, the more tests you need. Our testing capacity can’t keep up because our case load isn’t slowing down. 4/
Worse, it’s not clear to me how we'll get to a better place. If we don’t have in our sights a clear goal, and if we don’t pursue that with all of our brilliance, tenacity and resources, it’s hard to imagine that things will look much better in a few months. 5/
Which brings us to schools. We have been looking ahead to school reopening since they first closed in March. And now, in August, the time we knew would come has arrived - schools will soon be in session, and our outbreak is simply not under control like we hoped it would be. 6/
The importance of schools cannot be overstated. They educate our children, provide access to meals, healthcare and mental health supports, and they allow parents to to work. In so many ways, schools are the flywheel of our society. 7/
But nobody disputes the value of schools. Schools did not close in March because they faded in importance. They closed bc of the pandemic. We care a great deal about protecting children and teachers and families at home, and ensuring their health and safety is a top priority. 8/
We all want in-person learning, but when and how can we make that happen, as safely as possible? The final decisions should be left to communities. How communities weigh the risks, benefits, and resources available to support in-person learning will vary from place to place. 9/
But communities can’t decide alone, and they can’t implement alone. School leaders and families are not expert in pandemic preparedness or epidemiology. They need clear guidance and technical support from our public health authorities at the federal, state and local levels. 10/
Districts also need supplemental funds to implement the mitigation measures needed to slow spread in buildings, or to implement the technologies and supports needed to deliver and effective remote learning. 11/
And although we have learned a lot about the virus in the last few months, there are many questions unanswered. The federal government should put in place now the necessary research studies to collect data on our most pressing questions 12/
The more we can learn about this virus, the better informed our decisions will be – and we can be sure that there will be many more difficult decisions, including those on schools, between now and when we find a safe and effective vaccine that is accessible to all 13/13
