Daily Digest for July 31, 2020 Posted at 6:45 a.m. by Cody Nelson |
Good morning and happy Friday Capitol View. We've a plan for the school year, sort of.
Gov. Tim Walz's schools plan offers guidance, but no firm rules. While the state will recommend schools on how to start their year, districts will have the final say on whether they reopen, have distance learning, or some combination of the two.
Walz admitted his plan was "not perfect," but that it was localized and data-driven. "It’s gonna be a first day of school unlike any we’ve seen,” Walz said, again imploring Minnesotans to wear masks, socially distance and wash their hands to check the spread of the disease. “This plan doesn’t work if community spread accelerates. It will end up impacting our children,” he said. “COVID is not their fault.”
In addition, the state will offer schools some practical help. It'll fund masks for all school staff and students, plus at-home COVID-19 saliva tests for teachers and staff. Private schools will get the same help.
County health data is the starting point for the state's recommendations. Calculations from Walz's office showed that schools in counties with about 40 percent of the state’s population would be recommended to have all students in classrooms if school started today. Another 52 percent of the state’s population would be recommended that elementary students are taught in schools while upper grades get a hybrid of in-school and distance learning.
The plan does have one strong requirement ... Districts and charter schools must give families the option to choose distance learning for their student no matter their district’s plans. Districts are expected to share their plans with families at least a week before the school year begins.
The statewide teachers union, Education Minnesota, gave its qualified backing to the plan. “Physically reopening requires both a low level of community spread and rigorous safety precautions inside a school. At first look, that’s an approach that educators can support,” the union said in a statement, while acknowledging a “tremendous amount of work” must be done before buildings can reopen to large numbers of students.
Republican Sen. Carla Nelson of Rochester, who chairs the Senate education committee, gave only partial support. While she’s glad it's not a one-size-fits-all plan, she’s not sure if Walz is offering guidance or a mandate. “Parents and educators want clarity on what the school year will look like. But they really didn’t get that today,” Nelson said. “I’m gravely concerned about state bureaucrats rather local elected school board members making decisions about school openings.”
In non-Minnesota news, the U.S. has reported its worst GDP report ever. Via NPR: "Gross domestic product — the broadest measure of economic activity — shrank at an annual rate of 32.9 percent in the second quarter, as restaurants and retailers closed their doors in a desperate effort to slow the spread of the virus. The economic shock in April, May and June was roughly four times as sharp as the worst quarterly decline during the Great Recession."
Former GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain has died from the coronavirus. Also via NPR: "Cain, 74, had been hospitalized since early July after he began having trouble breathing. ... Employees of Cain said they do not know where he contracted the coronavirus. He attended President Trump's indoor rally in Tulsa, Okla., in late June and was photographed in the arena without a mask." |
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