— News and Commentary —

Teacher’s Union Demands Schools Be Closed Until August 2021, Promote Virtual Learning Only

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Oct 20, 2020 DailyWire.com

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School children drawing at the school library - stock photo — Klaus Vedfelt via Getty Images

The Fairfax Education Association (FEA) is demanding all in-person instruction be banned until at least August of 2021.

A petition sponsored by the labor union is aptly titled “Keep Fairfax County Public Schools Virtual for the 2020-21 school year” and has collected nearly 100 signatures.

“Schools are an important part of our communities and play a critical role in supporting our children as a whole and not just their academic achievement,” the petition says. “It is time to draw the line to protect the health, safety, and well-being of students, school staff, their families, and communities.”

A letter from petition supporters will be sent to the Fairfax County School Board and Superintendent and reads as follows:

As employees, parents, and community members, we petition you to:
Draw and hold the line by keeping Fairfax County Public Schools virtual for the remainder of the 2020-21 school year.
Science and Health Safety data support and require that no one should return to in person instruction until there is a widely available scientifically proven vaccine or highly effective treatment. The metric for Safe Reopening should be 14 days of zero community spread.
Should very limited return to buildings be attempted for high needs students and families:
1. All buildings should be equipped with HVAC Merv-13 filters, changed on
schedule.
 2. All staff should be provided Medical Grade PPE (N95 masks, goggles, face
shields, gowns, gloves, foot coverings, laundry service at each site).
3. All staff should be provided COVID testing.
4. NO Employees who feel unsafe whether Tier 1- Tier 4 should be forced to
return before the safe reopening metric of 14 days is met.
 5. All staff and families should be granted the option of teleworking/distance
learning.
Since none of the requirements for safe return are likely to be met in the foreseeable future of the 2020-21 school year, we reiterate:
Keep Fairfax County Public Schools Virtual for the 2020-21 school year.

The Fairfax County teacher’s union wants all public schools closed at least until August 2021. @FCPSSupt pic.twitter.com/CuLCXRCGOV
— Rory Cooper (@rorycooper) October 20, 2020

A Washington Post report admitted last month that early data showed the fears around reopening schools, (largely coming from the Left), were way overblown:

“Thousands of students and teachers have become sick with the coronavirus since schools began opening last month, but public health experts have found little evidence that the virus is spreading inside buildings, and the rates of infection are far below what is found in the surrounding communities,” the Post reported. “This early evidence, experts say, suggests that opening schools may not be as risky as many have feared and could guide administrators as they chart the rest of what is already an unprecedented school year.”

“Everyone had a fear there would be explosive outbreaks of transmission in the schools,” acknowledged Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. “In colleges, there have been. We have to say that, to date, we have not seen those in the younger kids, and that is a really important observation.”

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