AEA to Ducey: Ensure student safety with statewide school COVID-19 plan
Aug 21, 2020, 5:00 PM | Updated: 7:57 pm
(AP Photo)
(AP Photo)
PHOENIX — The Arizona Education Association sent a letter to Gov. Doug Ducey calling for him to implement a statewide plan regarding school safety or pass the responsibility on to Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman.
The AEA on Friday laid out five areas of focus the governor should act on, including issuing a statewide mask mandate in schools and on buses until the academic year is over, the letter states.
“We are in the midst of a very unprecedented school year, and with September coming upon us, we’re asking the governor to implement a statewide plan that includes very specific components on how we can teach our students safely, transition through a hybrid model back to in-person learning when it becomes safe,” Joe Thomas, President of the Arizona Education Association told KTAR News 92.3 FM on Friday.
“We need to have some statewide leadership so our governing boards, our superintendents, our parents, our educators can understand how best we can look at the long-term on safely educating our students.”
RELATED STORIES
In addition to the mask mandate, the AEA is calling for the governor to cancel this year’s standardized testing due to the disruptions the coronavirus has caused for students, adding the scores would be unreliable for the 2020-21 school year.
The AEA also believes Ducey should provide additional funding to ensure a safe and healthy environment for students.
Citing the county metrics designed by health experts, the letter explains not one state district is considered a “minimal risk.” Without a statewide plan, the safety and health of students and staff is at risk, the letter said.
“We didn’t specifically ask for the benchmarks to be made requirements but we do believe we should have a variety of benchmarks and we should have some hard requirements for districts to meet not only when it’s time to come back in but once we’re in,” Thomas said. “… We have schools that students are in right now that don’t have enough of these resources to get them through much more than one more week.
“If districts are having difficulty acquiring these supplies, the governor needs to act to support the districts so we can have safe classrooms. It’s not just about the community spread of the virus, it’s about making certain that we have all of the safety equipment and the safety supplies the we need to ensure that once students and staff are in our buildings, they remain safe.”
KTAR News’ Debra Dale contributed to this report.
