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Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona visited the Harry Truman High School in the Bronx, New York, to talk with students about a safe return to schools.
“We know students learn best in the classroom. We know that for their — not only their academic needs, but their social and emotional well-being, they belong in the classroom,” Cardona.
According to CBS News, 69% of parents are concerned about their children contracting COVID-19 in school.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that 54.7% of sixteen and seventeen-year-olds have received a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
“You know, as a father, I wouldn’t send my children in if I didn’t feel they were safe,” Cardona said. “I wouldn’t ask anyone to do something that I wouldn’t do for my own children. My children are going back to school. My children are getting on the soccer field. My children are getting on the volleyball court.”
“Because I know as a father that their mental health depends on their ability to engage in the community. And, I’m fortunate that my children are of the age where they can get vaccinated, and I know some parents will say, ‘Well, my children don’t have the vaccine.’ But the reality is, if we follow the mitigation strategies, we can keep our children safe.”
The Biden Administration is pushing back at Governors that ban vaccine and mask mandates.
President Joe Biden wants Cardona to explore legal action against states that have signed executive orders to block school mask mandates and other public health measures.
“Some state governments have adopted policies and laws that interfere with the ability of schools and districts to keep our children safe during in-person learning,” President Biden wrote in a memo to Cardona. “Our priority must be the safety of students, families, educators, and staff in our school communities. Nothing should interfere with this goal.”
Eight states have banned masks mandates.
A CBS News poll discovered that 36% of parents believe that masks should be optional for their children.
“I know that vaccines work. And I know that across the country, 90% of the educators have gotten vaccinated,” Cardona said. “I don’t have that authority to mandate vaccines. But what I can tell you is in those places where they’re relaxed about it, we have hospitals that are overrun. And those places where they are getting vaccinated, we’re able to function more normally.”
The CDC says that preventative strategies like promoting the vaccine, social distancing, correct mask-wearing, and screening tests can reduce the chances of children contracting the deadly COVID-19 virus at school.
