Ed. Sec'y Cardona Won't Say Some Districts Opening Too Slowly, Says School Officials Still Following Science

During a CNN special on Friday, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said that he thinks school officials that aren’t offering in-person classes three or four days a week are still “following the science,” and refused to say that there are districts that are re-opening too slowly.

Host Jake Tapper asked, “Given the science, do you think that there are some school districts that are moving too slowly?”

Cardona responded, “I do think that, throughout our country, we have districts where they don’t have the resources to implement some of the mitigation strategies that other districts have. And in some places, there might be fear, or there might be some concerns about whether or not the schools are safe enough. But I can tell you, in Connecticut, over 90% of the students have an opportunity for in-person learning to build that sense of community. So, it’s a balance, making sure that we’re moving the needle in the right direction to get students in school every day. But we have to do so, making sure that we’re adhering to those mitigation strategies that have worked to keep our schools safe.”

Tapper then followed up by asking, “Are enough school officials following the science when they don’t offer in-person classes, at least three or four days a week?”

Cardona answered, “Yes. I do believe, I — having worked as commissioner of education in Connecticut, I’ve seen the tremendous work that our educators and our school leaders and our district leaders have done to get the doors open and to make sure that they’re learning and following the science to make sure the schools are open, implementing mitigation strategies, communicating with parents and creating that sense of confidence while bringing the stakeholders to the table to make sure that they feel comfortable with this process. It is a process. This is unprecedented. I mean, we are in the middle of a pandemic. I do feel that they’re following the science, and I do think that this is hard work. There is no playbook for this in any leadership course. I do think that they’re following the science. I do think that they’re moving it. And I can tell you, there are districts that have been open since day one, providing their students an opportunity to engage in that social, emotional experience that we heard…in the segment earlier.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett