Title: Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that elementary and secondary schools in the United States should be opened for in-person instruction, and for other purposes.
Policy area: Education

Summary:
This resolution urges each elementary and secondary school in the United States to open for in-person instruction as soon as possible.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 293 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 293

 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that elementary 
  and secondary schools in the United States should be opened for in-
              person instruction, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 8, 2021

Mr. Banks submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Education and Labor

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that elementary 
  and secondary schools in the United States should be opened for in-
              person instruction, and for other purposes.

Whereas education is an essential service that provides benefits to students, 
        families, and the Nation as a whole;
Whereas closures of schools during the COVID-19 pandemic affected at least 
        55,000,000 students across K-12 schools;
Whereas research shows that extended absences from school due to closures 
        inflict long-term educational consequences for students;
Whereas according to a McKinsey & Company report, a sample of students showed 
        they learned only 67 percent of the math and 87 percent of the reading 
        they would have typically learned during the closed months;
Whereas on average, students have lost 5 to 9 months of learning, with minority 
        students impacted at a greater rate, potentially losing up to a year of 
        learning;
Whereas achievement gaps among socioeconomic groups will persist and widen 
        throughout a student's schooling;
Whereas Bellwether Education Partners estimates as many as 3,000,000 of the most 
        at-risk students may not have received any formal education for the 
        first 6 months of the pandemic;
Whereas an estimated 1,100,000 additional students may drop out of high school 
        due to school closures caused by the pandemic;
Whereas researchers estimate that school closures could result in lower future 
        earnings for students and a lower GDP for the Nation as a whole;
Whereas parents reported that children's mental health challenges have increased 
        because of school closures, including increased anxiety, depression, and 
        suicide;
Whereas reopening schools for in-person instruction has a positive effect on 
        increasing labor force participation of parents, particularly mothers;
Whereas in-person education provides superior learning to virtual instruction, 
        as well as social and emotional benefits;
Whereas in-person schooling has not been shown to fuel viral outbreaks or to 
        contribute substantially to viral transmission;
Whereas instead, the transmission of the COVID-19 virus is more likely to occur 
        within households;
Whereas data shows that schools have lower rates of COVID-19 than their 
        surrounding communities, because young children are less likely to 
        transmit the virus;
Whereas a survey of more than 57,000 childcare providers in the United States 
        found that childcare workers were not at higher risk of COVID-19 
        infection than the general adult population;
Whereas students are not the primary source of exposure to COVID-19 for adults 
        in schools;
Whereas multiple studies across several countries have found that children are 
        less likely to spread the virus and less likely to have moderate or 
        severe symptoms of COVID-19 in the case of an infection;
Whereas less than 10 percent of COVID-19 cases in the United States have been 
        among school-age children;
Whereas according to a May 2020 study from JAMA Pediatrics, ``children continue 
        to face a far greater risk of critical illness from influenza than from 
        COVID-19'';
Whereas children aged 5-14 are seven times more likely to die of influenza than 
        of COVID-19;
Whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) adjusted social 
        distancing recommendations from 6 feet down to 3 feet for K-12 students 
        learning in classrooms, a recommendation consistent with the World 
        Health Organization and the American Academy of Pediatrics;
Whereas the United States is rapidly deploying COVID-19 vaccines across the 
        country, and has already administered more than 124,000,000 doses of the 
        vaccine and averaging 2,500,000 doses per day;
Whereas schools have many tools at their disposal to offer parents education 
        options that work best for their families during the pandemic through 
        school choice and education savings account programs;
Whereas parental support for school choice opportunities to continue education 
        for their children has increased during the pandemic, across political 
        party lines and ethnicities;
Whereas Congress provided $13,000,000,000 to K-12 schools in March 2020, another 
        $54,000,000,000 in December 2020, and an additional $122,700,000,000 in 
        March 2021 for a total of $190,000,000,000, as well as several billions 
        in funding to Governors to use for education in their States;
Whereas the CDC estimated the cost of implementing recommended strategies for 
        reopening schools at $442 per student, and the American Federation of 
        Teachers estimated a total cost of $116,500,000,000, both well below the 
        amount Congress appropriated;
Whereas research has found that school closures were linked to union influence 
        rather than COVID-19 transmission rates and risks;
Whereas New York City closed schools in November based on an arbitrary positive 
        testing threshold supported by the United Federation of Teachers, even 
        though the school district of 1,100,000 students had several dozen 
        positive tests;
Whereas United Teachers Los Angeles issued a paper that requested several 
        radical left-wing policies in a plan to safely reopen schools, including 
        Medicare for All, defunding the police, expanded access to welfare for 
        illegal immigrants, and a moratorium on charter schools;
Whereas the Fairfax Education Association, the teachers' union in Fairfax, 
        Virginia, demanded that all students be vaccinated and there be zero 
        community spread before fully reopening schools, even though the 
        teachers were given priority access to the vaccine;
Whereas half of all Chicago teachers skipped school during the city's attempt to 
        reopen on January 4 and voted to defy an order to return to school on 
        February 1;
Whereas the Chicago Archdiocese, the largest Catholic school system in the 
        Nation, reopened for the 2020-2021 school year with in-person 
        instruction and, by following the Chicago Department of Public Health 
        Guidelines, experienced a lower infection rate for both students and 
        staff than for all Chicago children and working adults; and
Whereas many school districts, as well as private and parochial schools, across 
        the country have successfully reopened safely: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) affirms that United States school systems have adequate 
        resources and public health evidence to safely reopen for in-
        person education;
            (2) affirms that extended school closures pose a risk to 
        the well-being of American children, especially the most 
        vulnerable, and to the future of the Nation; and
            (3) urges every school in the United States to open for in-
        person instruction as soon as possible.
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