As the school closures statewide continue to drag on, parents and students alike are becoming more concerned about when schools will be reopened for traditional in-person learning. The combination of restrictions from Gov. Newsom and the insistence of teachers’ unions that schools remain closed have left parents at a stalemate, unsure of what’s to come.
The big victim in all of this is the students, of course. Children being forced into unfamiliar remote learning, not being able to socialize with friends, missing out on formative experience, and the list goes on. Perhaps school closures offer the benefit of preventing the spread of COVID-19, but at what cost?
Another pressing question is who should be determining which costs are palatable? Gov. Newsom seems to think that he should have ultimate authority over such decisions, while teachers’ unions desire that power for themselves. Unfortunately, both Newsom and the unions are ignoring and disenfranchising the parents and students they’re supposed to serve.
Incredibly, Sacramento unions are demanding that even schools that can safely open now remain closed until at least 2021 so that no one gets "a head start."
— Kevin Kiley (@KevinKileyCA) October 13, 2020
Virtually every Republican in California has been calling out this trend, pushing for students to be able to safely return to school while involving parents in the decision-making process. The growing threat of schools remaining closed in 2021 has pushed some parents over the edge, wondering when enough is enough.
Republican State Assembly candidate June Cutter has also been vocal about the need to allow students to return to in-person learning. One of her campaign priorities from the beginning has been to empower parents in the education process, rather than deferring to unions and the state to make all decisions.
This is not okay. #PutKidsFirst #OpenTheSchools https://t.co/TlKOjSGMeB
— June Cutter (@junecutter) October 14, 2020
Cutter, along with countless others, has had enough. As a parent herself, she’s witnessing the consequences of her own children being forced to learn remotely. There is nothing progressive or productive about disenfranchising parents when it comes to the education of their children, yet that’s exactly what Democrats and teachers’ union continue to insist.
