American Rescue Plan: A Safe Way to Reopen Schools and Support Students’ Wellbeing
March 13, 2020: the date that marked the last time many of America’s students set foot in a physical classroom. At the time, many students and teachers thought that school would be closed for two weeks, and then everything would go back to normal. For some students, the two-week break was met with excitement and only slight concern. However, as the United States neared the end of a full year marked by COVID-19 case spikes, deaths, and general trepidation, President Biden announced a plan to safely reopen schools on January 20th, the day he took office [1]. While the original closing of schools was met with excitement, the reopening plan has been met with anticipation, and for some, alarm. Despite valid concerns about the safety of reopening schools, this plan is necessary to support the social, emotional, and intellectual wellbeing of our students.
On February 12, 2021, President Biden announced his “imperative” goal to reopen schools. President Biden said, “Today, an entire generation of young people is on the brink of being set back up to a year or more in their learning.” He went on to express his concerns about students’ deteriorating mental health and the educational disparities heightened by inequalities in virtual learning. President Biden reminded Americans of his “achievable goal” to open K-8 schools within his first 100 days of office through the American Rescue Plan [2]. The Plan aims to “safely reopen schools” by providing community vaccination sites nationwide, increasing testing and tracing, providing paid sick leave, and “making the necessary investments to meet the president’s goal of safely reopening a majority of K-8 schools in the first 100 days” [3]. On March 12, 2021, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan into law, providing $130 billion to elementary through high schools to assist with the safe reopening of facilities [4].
Some, including Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, have charged that the American Rescue Plan is unconstitutional on the grounds that it infringes on the States’ authority because of its “coercive offer of federal funds” [5]. The Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states that any powers not delegated to the federal government are reserved for the States [6]. Our system of federalism leaves the States in charge of deciding how to run their public schools and when to reopen them.
Notwithstanding these federalist concerns, President Biden’s American Rescue Plan is constitutional because it provides State and local governments guidance -- rather than a mandate -- to safely reopen their schools. Providing funding to States to carry out federal recommendations does not infringe on States’ rights -- it merely provides them a suggested course of action.
For almost a year, students across the country have been isolated at home to protect themselves and their families from the risk of exposure to the Covid-19 virus. While this isolation has been undertaken in the name of safety, it has come with a substantial cost to student learning and development. According to a survey conducted by the RAND Corporation, 56% of teachers said they had covered half or less of the curriculum than at the same time last year [7]. In addition, assignment completion rates are 20% lower and absenteeism is higher for virtual learning students than for students learning in person this year [8]. Compiling this data illuminates that online learning environments are not serving the needs of students at home, and that students are less likely to be motivated to learn and to complete assignments in a virtual environment. It is also evident that online learning is making teachers’ lives more difficult, as they now struggle to help students pass classes which those students fail to attend. According to an anonymous teacher who works at this author’s hometown middle school, which consists of approximately 600 students, 104 students are at risk of failing. Compare this with about 30 students at risk of failing around this time in a normal academic year. The effects of virtual learning are undeniably -- and adversely -- impacting American students’ learning.
Beyond the devastating effects on student achievement, online learning has serious repercussions for students’ mental wellbeing. Students feel isolated because they do not get to see friends and classmates in person in schools, and they do not feel connected to their teachers or to their school. This leaves students feeling wholly unmotivated and unengaged. Dr. Beth Doll, a professor of educational psychology, says, “We have taken away the context that supports their engagement in school and their overall wellbeing, plus they are dealing with the tremendous uncertainty about the future” [9]. At home, at-risk students from difficult home situations are left without the safety and security of the schoolhouse building. For some students, the schoolhouse is the only place where they have access to heat and food. Without access to the schoolhouse building, at-risk students have become even more vulnerable.
President Biden’s American Rescue Plan is the best way to stimulate learning and to improve the mental wellbeing of students during these perilous times. To be sure, the safety concerns expressed by teachers and some parents are important to address. However, if federal funding helps ensure safe reopenings through teacher vaccination, cleaning protocols, and social distancing measures, schools will not be the “super spreaders” some fear them to be. Make no mistake: schools are perhaps the only edifices which have the ability to intellectually inspire the next generation. Therefore, it is imperative that they reopen as soon as physically possible.
References
[1] Camera, Lauren. “Biden Details Plan for Reopening Schools.” U.S. News & World Report. U.S. News & World Report, January 21, 2021. https://www.usnews.com/news/education-news/articles/2021-01-21/biden-details-plan-for-reopening-schools.
[2] Joe Biden, “Statement of President Joe Biden on Safely REOPENING SCHOOLS,” Statement of President Joe Biden on Safely Reopening Schools | The White House (The White House, February 12, 2021), https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/02/12/statement-of-president-joe-biden-on-safely-reopening-schools/.
[3] “President Biden Announces American Rescue Plan,” The White House (The United States Government, January 29, 2021), https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/legislation/2021/01/20/president-biden-announces-american-rescue-plan/.
[4] Grace Segers, “Biden Signs $1.9 Trillion American Rescue Plan into Law.” CBS News. CBS Interactive, March 12, 2021. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/biden-signs-covid-relief-bill-american-rescue-plan-into-law/.
[5] Josh Blackman, “Breaking: Ohio Challenges Constitutionality of American Rescue Plan Act (Updated),” Reason.com (Reason, March 17, 2021), https://reason.com/volokh/2021/03/17/breaking-ohio-challenges-constitutionality-of-american-rescue-plan-act/.
[6] The 10th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution,” National Constitution Center – The 10th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, accessed March 1, 2021, https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/amendment/amendment-x.
[7] Sarah Schwartz, “Survey: Teachers and Students Are Struggling With Online Learning,” Education Week (Education Week, December 1, 2020), https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/survey-teachers-and-students-are-struggling-with-online-learning/2020/11.
[8] Ibid.
[9] “Zoom School's Mental Health Toll on Kids,” American Psychological Association (American Psychological Association), accessed March 1, 2021, https://www.apa.org/news/apa/2020/10/online-learning-mental-health.