IV 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 20 
Expressing the sense of Congress that schools should safely reopen for in- 
person instruction as soon as possible. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 26, 2021 
Mr. STEIL (for himself, Mr. TIMMONS, Mr. BARR, Mr. ARMSTRONG, Mr. FITZ-
GERALD, Mr. ROUZER, Ms. TENNEY, Mr. MANN, Mr. LOUDERMILK, Mr. 
DUNN, Mr. CLINE, Mr. CAWTHORN, Mr. GALLAGHER, Mr. GOODEN of 
Texas, Mr. PERRY, Mr. MEUSER, Mr. STEUBE, Mr. BABIN, Mr. 
VALADAO, Mr. HAGEDORN, Mr. VAN DREW, Mrs. LESKO, Mr. MOORE of 
Utah, Mr. TIFFANY, Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas, and Mr. DAVIDSON) sub-
mitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on Education and Labor 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Expressing the sense of Congress that schools should safely 
reopen for in-person instruction as soon as possible. 
Whereas President Joe Biden has said ‘‘I think it’s important 
to follow the science. Listen to the experts. Do what they 
tell you.’’; 
Whereas an article published in the Journal of the American 
Medical Association maintained that ‘‘there has been lit-
tle evidence that schools have contributed meaningfully to 
increased community transmission’’ and noted ‘‘the pre-
ponderance of available evidence from the fall school se-
mester has been reassuring insofar as the type of rapid 
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•HCON 20 IH 
spread that was frequently observed in congregate living 
facilities or high-density worksites has not been reported 
in education settings in schools.’’; 
Whereas an article published in the New England Journal of 
Medicine argued that ‘‘[u]ntil [. . .] children physically 
return to school full time, many will lose out on essential 
educational, social, and developmental benefits; neither 
the economy nor the health care system will be able to 
return to full strength given parents’ caretaking respon-
sibilities; and profound racial and socioeconomic injus-
tices will be further exacerbated. We believe that safely 
reopening schools full-time for all elementary school chil-
dren should therefore be a top national priority.’’; 
Whereas Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the Director of the Centers 
for Disease Control and Prevention, has said ‘‘[t]here is 
increasing data to suggest that schools can safely reopen 
and that safe reopening does not suggest that teachers 
need to be vaccinated’’ and ‘‘[v]accinations of teachers is 
not a prerequisite for safely reopening schools.’’; 
Whereas Dr. Anthony Fauci, the Director of the National In-
stitute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has said 
‘‘[y]ou don’t want to essentially have nobody in school 
until all the teachers get vaccinated.’’; 
Whereas Congress has provided over $75 billion in financial 
assistance to help schools mitigate the risks of COVID– 
19 transmission and return to in-person instruction; 
Whereas school closures have been projected to harm Black, 
Hispanic, and low-income students most acutely, exacer-
bating achievement gaps by 15 to 20 percent and increas-
ing the likelihood of dropping out of school by 2 to 9 per-
cent; 
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Whereas school closures have led to a significant drop in stu-
dent literacy skills; 
Whereas school closures have been associated with an in-
crease in mental health challenges for students including 
a higher risk for suicide; and 
Whereas school closures harm childcare-dependent lower in-
come families and working mothers and will likely con-
tribute to earnings gaps and lower employment rates 
among women: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that school 
administrators should follow the science and safely reopen 
schools for in-person instruction as soon as possible, for 
the benefit of students and their parents. 
Æ 
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