69ý

Blog

Your Education Road Map

Politics K-12®

Politics K-12 kept watch on education policy and politics in the nation’s capital and in the states. This blog is no longer being updated, but you can continue to explore these issues on edweek.org by visiting our related topic pages: , .

Policy & Politics

Biden’s Call for School Reopening Relies on Cooperation from Congress, a Divided Public

By Evie Blad — December 11, 2020 2 min read
President-elect Joe Biden.
  • Save to favorites
  • Print
Email Copy URL

President-elect Joe Biden has sharpened his calls to reopen schools since the election, but he will still have to overcome big barriers to contain the coronavirus and bring children back to classrooms.
“If Congress provides the funding we need to protect students, educators, and staff, and if states and cities put strong public health measures in place that we all follow, then my team will work to see that the majority of our schools can be open by the end of my first 100 days,” Biden said Dec. 8.
Those are some pretty big Ifs.
Some epidemiologists have said schools that have remained in remote learning this school year should be more aggressive about reopening. But as some major cities have plotted strategies to bring students back, virus rates have spiked around the country, complicating their efforts.
Biden spoke days after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued strongly worded guidance urging state and local governments to step up efforts to . Despite concerns about record high cases in some areas, the CDC cautioned that K-12 schools “should be the last settings to close after all other mitigation measures have been employed and the first to reopen when they can do so safely.”
As Education Week reported recently, the success of state and local efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus rely on cooperation from a divided and sometimes resistant public.

See Also

President-elect Joe Biden puts on his face mask at a November event in Wilmington, Del.  Biden has promised clear guidance for schools about responding to COVID-19, but he will face political divisions in addressing the issue.
President-elect Joe Biden puts on his face mask at a November event in Wilmington, Del. Biden has promised clear guidance for schools about responding to COVID-19, but he will face political divisions in addressing the issue.
Carolyn Kaster/AP
Federal What Educators Need to Hear From Biden on COVID-19
Evie Blad, December 3, 2020
10 min read

That division, and a perceived lack of credibility for federal efforts, have been exacerbated by inconsistent and sometimes contradictory messaging strategy.
We talked to epidemiologists and crisis messaging experts about what it will take to regain frayed public trust, and they emphasized that many Americans have pretty firm mindsets about risk and prevention that may be difficult to change.

Calls for More COVID-19 Relief Funding

Biden’s recent statements were a more direct version of his language on the campaign trail: He wants schools open, but he believes many of them need more funding to get there.
Securing that funding may be difficult, though. Recent efforts to negotiate a compromise relief package have stagnated as party leaders disagree over provisions like liability protections for schools and businesses and aid to state and local governments. It’s unclear if any other attempts will succeed before Biden’s inauguration, and control of the Senate rests on a pair of January runoff elections in Georgia.
State education leaders have also disagreed with U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos about whether they’ve left education funds from the CARES Act, a previous relief bill, “sitting in the bank.”
Biden’s pledge to get most schools open in the first 100 days of his presidency might not be a hopeful thing for families in some parts of the country.
One hundred days after inauguration day is April 30, and the school year is set to end in early or midMay in some areas.

Related Tags:

A version of this news article first appeared in the Politics K-12 blog.

Events

School & District Management Webinar Crafting Outcomes-Based Contracts That Work for Everyone
Discover the power of outcomes-based contracts and how they can drive student achievement.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School & District Management Webinar
Harnessing AI to Address Chronic Absenteeism in 69ý
Learn how AI can help your district improve student attendance and boost academic outcomes.
Content provided by 
School & District Management Webinar EdMarketer Quick Hit: What’s Trending among K-12 Leaders?
What issues are keeping K-12 leaders up at night? Join us for EdMarketer Quick Hit: What’s Trending among K-12 Leaders?

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.

Read Next

Law & Courts The Uncertainty Ahead for Title IX and Transgender 69ý in Trump's New Term
Trump may not be able to withdraw the Title IX rule on "Day 1," but advocates on both sides expect it to go away.
7 min read
Marshall University students hold a protest to voice concerns over the handling of Title IX-related issues at the university on Nov. 18, 2022, in Huntington, W.Va.
Marshall University students hold a protest to voice concerns over the handling of Title IX-related issues at the university on Nov. 18, 2022, in Huntington, W.Va.
Sholten Singer/The Herald-Dispatch via AP
States A State Changed Anti-Bias Guidelines for Teachers After a Lawsuit. Will Others?
The lawsuit filed by a conservative law firm took issue with state guidelines on examining biases and diversifying curriculum.
5 min read
69ý arrive for classes at Taylor Allderdice High School in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh on Jan. 23, 2024.
69ý arrive for classes at Taylor Allderdice High School in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh on Jan. 23, 2024. As part of a recent court settlement, Pennsylvania will no longer require school districts to follow its set of guidelines that sought to confront racial and cultural biases in education.
Gene J. Puskar/AP
Federal Video Linda McMahon: 5 Things to Know About Trump's Choice for Education Secretary
President-elect Donald Trump plans to nominate former pro-wrestling CEO Linda McMahon to lead the education department.
1 min read
Federal What a National School Choice Program Under President Trump Might Look Like
School choice advocates—and detractors—see a second Trump term as the biggest opportunity in decades for choice at the federal level.
8 min read
President Donald Trump listens during a "National Dialogue on Safely Reopening America's 69ý," event in the East Room of the White House, on July 7, 2020, in Washington.
President Donald Trump listens during a "National Dialogue on Safely Reopening America's 69ý," event in the East Room of the White House on July 7, 2020, in Washington. He returns to power with more momentum than ever behind policies that allow public dollars to pay for private school education.
Alex Brandon/AP