The increasingly heated debate over the school’s reopening is forcing President Joe Biden to balance two priorities: putting the kids back in the classroom and preserving the support of powerful labor groups that helped him get elected.
After weeks of stalemate in some cities and states where teacher unions are demanding vaccines as a condition for reopening, the issue came up on Wednesday when Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said the teacher vaccination “is not a prerequisite for the safe reopening of schools. “
But in a juggling of positions, the White House refused to support Walensky, saying she was speaking “in her personal capacity”. Asked on Friday about his previous comments, Walensky bet.
So far, it does not appear that the issue is opening a barrier between Biden and the unions. Even those who require vaccines say that vaccines would not be necessary if schools were taking other steps to make buildings safe.
Walensky cited data from the CDC on Wednesday showing that social detachment and wearing a mask significantly reduce the spread of the virus in school settings. Just a week earlier, the agency released a similar study finding that, with the use of a mask and other precautions, it is generally safe to take face-to-face classes.
For many Republicans and some on the left, Walensky’s comment was seen as an endorsement to reopen schools immediately. Some believed that it discredited teachers’ unions that required vaccines before returning to face-to-face classes.
The unions, however, have largely shrugged. With the right mix of security measures in place, teacher unions generally agree that vaccines are not a condition for reopening. The problem is that many schools are long overdue for ventilation updates and other important measures recommended by health officials, said Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers.
“Vaccination goes from priority to essential if you are unable to carry out some of these basic mitigation strategies,” said Weingarten. “Instead of keeping these schools closed for months, why not vaccinate teachers more quickly?”
Even among state and local unions that have taken a tougher line with vaccines, Walensky’s comment drew little fire. The California Teachers’ Association is pushing for all teachers to be vaccinated, but in large part because many schools are “nowhere near” to making buildings safe by other methods, said Claudia Briggs, a union spokeswoman.
Briggs applauded the Biden administration’s response, saying the president made it clear that teacher safety is of “fundamental importance”. She cited her $ 130 billion proposal for additional pandemic relief to help reopen schools.
In Chicago, vaccination has been a major obstacle between the city and the teachers’ union as they work to negotiate a return to the classroom. At a news conference held on Friday by the Chicago Teachers Union, special education teacher Dawn Kelly said teachers want to go back, but feel they are not being protected.
“We want to go back to school. I miss my babies, I want to hug my students, I want to sit on the carpet and read, but now it is not safe ”, she said.
Despite the CDC’s seemingly definitive statement, the White House refused to take a firm stand on vaccinating teachers. Asked about this on Thursday, Biden’s press secretary Jen Psaki said that Walensky was speaking “in his personal capacity” and that the White House would await the updated school guidelines that Biden requested from the CDC.
“Obviously she is the head of the CDC, but we will wait for the final guidance so that we can use this as a guide for schools across the country,” said Psaki.
Biden promised to reopen most of the country’s K-8 schools within his first 100 days in office, a goal he says is possible if Congress passes his pandemic rescue plan. and whether states prioritize teachers when implementing vaccines. In many states, teachers are being included early in a second wave of attempts.
But the plan has drawn criticism from critics who say Biden is shirking teacher unions who see him as an ally.
The country’s two largest teacher unions have endorsed Biden for president, including the National Education Association, whose 3 million members include First Lady Jill Biden, who is a professor at a long-standing community college.
Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Said efforts to bring students back to the classroom have been blocked by “rich and powerful unions that donate large sums to Democrats and have control over education in many communities “.
“A government that puts facts and science first would be conducting a press across the court to open schools,” he said in the Senate floor on Wednesday.
Some on the left issued similar reprimands, including former New York mayor and Democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg, who said on MSNBC that Biden must “stand up” to teachers’ unions and force back to school.
In California, Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom cited Walensky’s comment as evidence that it is safe to reopen schools before all teachers get vaccines. He has been pressuring schools to reopen for weeks, but so far it appears that the discovery of the CDC has done little to persuade teachers to return.
The scarcity of vaccines and the slow launch have hampered Biden’s reopening plan, as more schools delay face-to-face education. Leaders in some districts have expressed doubts that they will bring all students back for personal instruction until the next school year.
The Biden government says it hopes to speed up openings, increasing funding and helping schools to implement virus tests. Miguel Cardona, chosen by Biden as secretary of education, said he was prepared to help reopen schools safely, even if the teachers were not all vaccinated.
AFT’s Weingarten said the proposed Biden pandemic relief would go a long way in opening schools. But even if Congress passes, she said, it could take months before schools receive and make the necessary corrections. Instead of teachers as scapegoats, she said the blame should lie on the Trump administration for not delivering vaccines early and on districts that haven’t updated buildings for years.
“There is not much confidence for the districts because we have had years and years of austerity budgets and we know that the facilities are not what they should be,” she said. “A pandemic should not be needed to repair ventilation systems.”
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Associated Press writer Don Babwin contributed to this report.