Title: Expressing the sense of Congress that schools should safely reopen for in-person instruction as soon as possible.
Policy area: Education

Summary:
This concurrent resolution expresses the sense of Congress that school administrators should safely reopen schools for in-person instruction as soon as possible.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 20 Introduced in House (IH)]

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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. 
Fitzgerald, 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) submitted 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 little evidence that schools have 
        contributed meaningfully to increased community transmission'' and noted 
        ``the preponderance of available evidence from the fall school semester 
        has been reassuring insofar as the type of rapid 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 responsibilities; and 
        profound racial and socioeconomic injustices will be further 
        exacerbated. We believe that safely reopening schools full-time for all 
        elementary school children 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 Institute 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, exacerbating achievement gaps by 15 to 20 
        percent and increasing the likelihood of dropping out of school by 2 to 
        9 percent;
Whereas school closures have led to a significant drop in student literacy 
        skills;
Whereas school closures have been associated with an increase in mental health 
        challenges for students including a higher risk for suicide; and
Whereas school closures harm childcare-dependent lower income families and 
        working mothers and will likely contribute 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.
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