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“The tools are there, that’s right – are we following the mitigation strategies? Cardona told reporters during the White House press briefing. “You know what I’m worried about? Adult actions are hindering the reopening of safe schools. Let our educators educate. Let our principals lead. And we can reopen our schools safely. Another thing that worried about this I want to share, it’s complacency. Let’s not go back to the March 2020 school system. ”
These “adult actions,” he suggested, include policies that “go against what (the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) recommendations are”.
Cardona warned that these policies, like others that prevent schools from imposing masking requirements, could lead to school disruptions.
“I’m concerned that decisions that are made that don’t put students at the center and the health and safety of students at the center are the reason schools can be disrupted. So we know what to do. And, you know, don’t. Don’t be the reason schools are disrupted, because of the politicization of this school reopening effort. We know what works. We need to keep our students safe. We need to keep our educators safe, “he said. he declared.
“At the end of the day, I want to work with Texas, I want to work with Florida. I want to make sure these students have access to in-person learning,” Cardona said, adding that “it’s extremely important that we have conversations with governors directly, with heads of state directly.
“We want to be an ally and make sure we support our students. At the end of the day, we are talking about students in the classrooms. They have suffered enough. It’s time for them to be in the classroom without disrupting their learning, ”he added.
Cardona reiterated her message in an interview with CNN’s Ana Cabrera later Thursday, saying any school closures linked to Covid-19 would be “disappointing.”
The Department of Education, he said, will work with Florida and Texas, adding, “These are our students too. We will go further if we work together.
“The message, really, is to look at the data,” he said, applauding Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who said he regretted a law banning compulsory masks in schools. .
Cardona expressed frustration when asked to respond to a letter from school superintendent Rocky Hanna in Leon County, Fla., Expressing concerns about cases in her school district.
“It’s frustrating to hear this letter. It’s preventable. It’s not the Delta variant, it’s policies that prevent students from entering the classroom safely,” he said. he declares.
He added, “My heart goes out to superintendents who try to do the right thing and are pushed in the wrong direction.”
Cardona’s comments after Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis threatened to suspend funding for schools requiring masks for students, promising to defend the rights of parents to decide to mask their own children.
“If some governors don’t do the right thing,” Biden said, they should allow businesses and universities to set their own rules. Asked about DeSantis and Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Biden said, “Their decisions are not good for their constituents.”
The future of student debt repayment
Cardona also told Thursday’s briefing that student loan borrowers whose payments and interest have been suspended since last year will learn whether they will have to start paying off their debt “very soon.”
“I have nothing today, but like I said, it’s a priority for us. Borrowers need information and they need help too,” he added.
Student loan forbearance, instituted by the federal government as a form of financial aid amid the coronavirus pandemic, is expected to end on September 30. The Biden administration did not say whether it intended to extend the abstention.
Earlier Thursday, the Biden administration also announced additional measures to support back-to-school efforts.
To strengthen vaccination against Covid-19 among young people, the White House is launching a back-to-school “week of action” with partner organizations to vaccinate more young people, as well as a number of other initiatives, notably in encouraging the integration of Covid-19. 19 vaccinations in sports physics in summer and autumn.
The National Parent Teacher Association will encourage the deployment of pediatricians during “Back to School Nights” across the country with information on the Covid-19 vaccine. The administration has launched additional resources to help schools run pop-up vaccination clinics, after the president encouraged each school to host a clinic in the coming weeks.
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