Thoughts on DESE 6/25 reopening guidance

Note: I've been doing a lot more work around education safety lately, but moved it away from this blog. I founded Massachusetts Education Safety Advocacy Group (MESAG) and you can find up-to-date research on the website, Twitter, and Facebook. Please follow, like, and share!

Today (6/25/2020), DESE released initial guidance on school reopening. Here is the link to the full report. Yes, most of this is guidance rather than mandates, but the document is still incredibly problematic.

First, I want to address the obvious: yes, remote learning was challenging for kids, parents, and teachers. Remote learning this year happened with no real transition time, planning time, or coordination between districts. It was chaos. But that's not a reason to send people back into schools when we can't do so safely. There's planning time now. Things can be improved. Remote learning does not have to be a last choice, a disaster, or a problem.

I'll cite multiple studies that DESE left out in a separate post, but for now I'll just say that the DESE report ignored multiple high quality peer-reviewed research studies about COVID-19 transmission. Most of the studies they cite as "proof" are small case studies. Generally, case studies are not generalizable. The report left out many studies in adults. Schools need adults in them. Those adults need to interact (in a physically distanced manner) in order for schools to function. Adult to adult transmission should be a major concern and element of the plan, and it isn't.

This plan has one goal: justify a return to school in the fall. Not use science to determine if a return to school is safe, but justify a conclusion already made. The fact that the medical professionals supposedly consulted for this report have largely not been named speaks volumes.

I did a Twitter thread breaking down issues with the guidance line-by-line with screenshots. The guidance is a mess. So many issues. The largest issue, in my opinion, is the total lack of acknowledgement of the risk staff would face if schools reopen. Teachers did not get into teaching to be exposed to dangerous diseases. It isn't a part of our job. There are no answers in the report about what will be done to protect staff, especially staff who are more vulnerable to COVID-19. The rhetoric is student- and family-centered not because science says it should be, but to appeal to the voting public. This DESE document is political. The press conference today selling the guidance was even more political pandering (Twitter thread on the press conference is here).

Additionally, the guidance is full of unfunded mandates. Yes, it's encouraging to hear that districts can plan on "level services plus" funding, but the reality is that depends on legislature budgets and it may still not be adequate to truly maintain level services and provide all necessary PPE and equipment. Additional training time (which may require adding days to teacher contracts) also add up quickly, and cash-strapped districts are unlikely to be able to shoulder this expense)

The timing of the guidance is also problematic. Most schools are done for the year, meaning that school-year staff (teachers, principals, paraprofessionals, and others) are by contract not currently working. Putting together some semblance of a functional district plan requires input from these groups. They'll now be asked to work unpaid on reopening plans, or districts will have to somehow find the money to pay them for their work. Money that could go towards effective remote learning software, PPE, school staffing, or other things that impact student learning.

Massachusetts can do better. Massachusetts should do better. How can we make them do better? Contact the people in charge! Here's a short list:

Contact Governor Baker's Office (linked form)
Massachusetts Secretary of Education James Peyser: eoe@massmail.state.ma.us
Massachusetts Board of Education: boe@doe.mass.edu
Massachusetts Return to School Working Group: RTSWG@mass.gov

If you're a member of a teacher's union, contact them and demand that they push for staff safety to be a primary concern as more reopening plans are made at the state and local level.

Local level decisions will matter a lot based on this guidance. Pay attention to what school committees and superintendents do in the next two months. Their actions - not their words - are literally a matter of life or death.