Within the span of 48 hours, more than 1,500 physicians have signed the Job Creators Network Foundation’s petition advocating for elementary and middle schools to reopen this fall for in-person classroom schooling.
“Tens of millions of American students and families, particularly minorities, have faced severe disruptions from prolonged school closures,” said Alfredo Ortiz, president and CEO of the Job Creators Network. “These consequences extend beyond just scholastic slippage, which may never be recovered, to social and health impacts, including missed school lunches and an escape from abusive homes. For the sake of all American families, especially the most vulnerable, and following the best science, state and local officials must reopen schools.”
The petition is part of the Job Creators Network Foundation’s ‘Flatten the Fear’ campaign, which the pro-small business organization launched as states and local leaders struggle with the decision to have in-person class in the fall.
Dr. Robert R. Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Friday that it is “critically important for public health to open schools this fall.”
“CDC resources will help parents, teachers and administrators make practical, safety-focused decisions as this school year begins,” Redfield said, offering information for parents and officials to use to open schools.
It is critically important for our public health to open schools this fall. CDC resources will help parents, teachers and administrators make practical, safety-focused decisions as this school year begins. https://t.co/QSCGa85yT2 pic.twitter.com/hyajzvIgET
— Dr. Robert R. Redfield (@CDCDirector) July 24, 2020
The American Academy of Pediatrics released a statement last month, saying “strongly advocates that all policy considerations for the coming school year should start with a goal of having students physically present in school. The importance of in-person learning is well-documented, and there is already evidence of the negative impacts on children because of school closures in the spring of 2020.”
“As both a practicing physician and former governor, I understand that science should inform public policy decisions,” said Jeff Colyer MD, a practicing physician, former governor of Kansas, and partner of the Job Creators Network Foundation. “In this case, the science makes it abundantly clear that schools should resume in-person, classroom instruction for America’s youth. It couldn’t be more evident.”
While polls show Americans are divided along political and even racial lines on the issue of reopening schools in the fall, a stream of studies continue to show that young children rarely transmit the coronavirus to each other or adults.
Jerome Hudson is Breitbart News Entertainment Editor and author of the bestselling book 50 Things They Don’t Want You to Know. Order your copy today. Follow Jerome Hudson on Twitter @jeromeehudson.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.