Monday, Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA) outlined her plan to reopen schools across the United States with her proposed Reopen Schools Act. Her bill is aimed to help students and teachers get back in the classroom safely amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic by only providing funding to schools that reopen.
Hinson, who is against the Democrats’ $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill that includes funding for non-health matters, said it is “sad” that children “have become in essence a political football.” She added that children need to get back into the classroom because “their mental health is suffering” and “they’re falling behind.”
“It is sad, Stu, that our children have become in essence a political football in this game,” Hinson told “Varney & Company” host Stuart Varney. “And I’m a mom to school-age kids myself, and in Iowa, my kids got on the school bus this morning. So, we are leading the way in Iowa. I heard a conversation about having a road map. We’ve got the road map. We know it is safe for our kids to be back in school. The data says it. So, we need to get those kids back. So, my bill, the Reopen Schools Act, does exactly that. It ties that $54 billion to accountability. We want schools to have a plan to reopen, get those plans to the governor, and make sure we’re getting kids back in the classroom. It is too important an issue. Their mental health is suffering, and they’re falling behind. That is the most important challenge we’re going to have to deal with for years to come.”
She went on to say if the President Joe Biden administration needs a “model,” it could look to Iowa.
“We can do it around the country,” Hinson advised. “It’s too important an issue to keep moving these goalposts. I mean, one day a week is what the Biden administration is saying is their goal. That’s a complete disservice to our students.”
Follow Trent Baker on Twitter @MagnifiTrent