Schools need an additional $116 billion to reopen facilities safely, the AFT says
The American Federation of Teachers says the average school will need an additional $1.2 million, or $2,300 per student, to open its doors safely in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
A report prepared by the teachers union, “Reopening Schools During a Time of Triple Crisis: Financial Implications,” argues that federal lawmakers must provide significant funding to ensure school buildings can reopen with health protections and learning layouts in place for students and educators.
The AFT says schools nationwide will need an additional $116.5 billion for instructional staff, distance learning, before- and after-school care, transportation, personal protective equipment, cleaning and health supplies, health staffing, custodial and cleaning staff, meeting children’s social and emotional needs and additional academic support for students.
Without the additional support, school buildings will stay shuttered, the AFT says.
"This is a five-alarm fire," says AFT President Randi Weingarten. "Since late April we have been exploring ways to safely reopen school buildings in the fall. Our children need it, and our families deserve it. Our educators want it, and the economy won’t recover without it. But if schools can’t get the money they need to safely reopen, then they won’t reopen, period.
States, cities and school districts are facing the largest budget cuts since the Great Recession, with state shortfalls approaching a half-trillion dollars, the teachers union asserts. If no new federal money materializes, states will be forced to make hundreds of billions in cuts to education.
“America is facing a triple crisis: a health pandemic, a racial justice crisis and an economic crisis—and they’re all interrelated," Weingarten says. "Public schools are centers of their communities and essential to repairing our nation’s fraying social fabric. And the economy won’t recover fully unless school buildings reopen.
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Judge upholds Indiana University's vaccine requirement for students and staff
A federal judge has upheld a requirement imposed by Indiana University that all students and employees must receive a Covid-19 vaccine before returning to campus for fall semester.
The South Bend Tribune reports that U.S. District Court Judge Damon Leichty ruled that the students who challenged the university did not show they would suffer irreparable harm under the vaccine requirement and that that university has acted reasonably in the interest of its students' and employees' public health.
Eight students sued the university over its requirement.
The students' lawyer argued in court last week that the vaccine requirement violates students' rights to bodily integrity, informed choice of medical treatment and religious freedom, essentially forcing them to choose between getting vaccinated and continuing their education at Indiana.
But Judge Leichty disagreed.
"The university is presenting the students with a difficult choice — get the vaccine or else apply for an exemption or deferral, transfer to a different school, or forgo schools for the semester altogether," Leichty wrote. "But, this hard choice doesn't amount to coercion."
Indiana’s policy will require all students, faculty and staff in the fall semester to be fully vaccinated either by Aug. 15 or when returning to the Bloomington campus after Aug. 1, whichever is earlier.
Attorneys for the university said it imposed a vaccine requirement as a means to exercise what federal health officials describe as the best way to protect people from contracting the coronavirus.
"A ruling from the federal court has affirmed Indiana University’s Covid-19 vaccination plan designed for the health and well-being of our students, faculty and staff," university spokesman Chuck Carney said Monday. "We appreciate the quick and thorough ruling which allows us to focus on a full and safe return. We look forward to welcoming everyone to our campuses for the fall semester."
