Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Can Safety In Schools Be Guaranteed?
The Hill: Trump Says He Can't Assure School Safety Amid Pandemic: 'Can You Assure Anybody Of Anything?'
President Trump, who has pressed for schools to open this fall despite the coronavirus pandemic, said Thursday that he couldn't offer assurances that holding in-person classes would be safe. “Can you assure anybody of anything?” Trump said in response to a question about how he could assure people that schools can safely be reopened. At the same time, Trump falsely claimed that young people are “almost immune” to the virus. (Hellmann, 7/30)
AP: Minnesota Schools Get Some Flexibility On Back-To-School
Minnesota state officials on Thursday unveiled a plan to reopen schools this fall that gives districts some flexibility to toggle between in-person and online learning, but reserves the right for the state to step in if the coronavirus gets out of control. Gov. Tim Walz acknowledged the importance of schools and the value of in-person learning, but said the state’s top priority is safety. Districts will work with the state Health and Education departments to determine whether to use in-person instruction, online learning or a hybrid model, and will have the ability to become more or less restrictive depending on the virus. (Ibrahim, 7/30)
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The New York Times: The Pandemic’s Toll On Children With Special Needs And Their Parents
Franscheska Eliza has a 9-year-old son with autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and sensory issues. Before the pandemic, he was in a program in the Bedford, Mass., public schools designed for children with autism. This meant her son, Rafael, was in a special classroom, but also was a member of the regular third-grade class, and could join them for morning meeting or some academic subjects. He had a dedicated aide who worked with him when he got anxious. This was his first year in the school, and the beginning of the year was tough, but by March, things were going well.Then came Covid-19. (Klass, 7/27)
The New York Times: Worried Your Kid Is Falling Behind? You’re Not Alone
The other day my mother gave me a book called “What Your Second Grader Should Know.” A quick flip through it revealed that a few weeks from now, my son would need to label an insect’s thorax, know the names of a dozen Greek gods and discuss the role of Dolley Madison in the War of 1812. In the wake of some serious distance learning burnout, the most educational thing we’d done all summer had been a contact-free library pickup of the latest “Captain Underpants.” I suddenly wished we’d done a little more. If you’re concerned that remote learning may have set your child back academically, brace yourself: It probably has. (Burns, 7/30)
USA Today: COVID Online School Impacts Kids' Mental Health. What Can Teachers Do?
When her South Carolina high school went online this spring, Maya Green struggled through the same emotions as many of her fellow seniors: She missed her friends. Her online assignments were too easy. She struggled to stay focused. But Green, 18, also found herself working harder for the teachers who knew her well and cared about her. "My school doesn't do a ton of lessons on social and emotional learning," said Green, who just graduated from Charleston County School of the Arts, a magnet school, and is headed to Stanford University. (Richards, 7/31)
