SCHOOL RETURN
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Aug. 9, 2020
School Reopening in the USA and around the world is dependent on Safety from COVID 19
Preparation for the 2020-2021 School here is going on as expected though parents are not sure if their children will be using the school backpacks, books, and other school materials physically present in school, studying at home online or homeschooled by their parents.
At the St, Joseph church premises North of Jupiter in Richardson Texas, ladies were collecting backpack donations from parishioners and well-wishers in preparation for school resumption or opening. The religious schools or faith-based educational institutions are exempted from the regulation and control of the government entities and could open up for schooling when they think it is right and safe for their students to return to physical presence in School.
Governance and administrative authorities in the different Independent School districts are working hard to have their students and staff, including teachers return to safe environments at school.
President Trump and other Republican members of the USA Congress and senate continue to accuse Democrats of playing politics with the lives of young people, who they want to return to school immediately while the democrats accuse the republicans of being out of touch and out of reality with the national COVID 19 situation.
In Paris France, arrangements are made for Schools to resume like in other European countries where Sars Co2 viral transmission has been controlled.
Dr. Akwo Thomnpson Ntuba
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Chairmen Nadler, Serrano, Scott Release Groundbreaking GAO Report on 30th Anniversary of ADA that Finds Two-Thirds of U.S. Public Schools Have Barriers That May
Limit Access for Students with Disabilities Report Recommends Department of Justice Provide School Districts With Greater Outreach, Guidance, and Technical Assistance to Improve ADA Accessibility and Accountability | |
Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressmen Jerrold Nadler (NY-10), chairman of the House Committee on the Judiciary, José E. Serrano (NY-15), chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03), chairman of the House Committee on Education and Labor released a groundbreaking U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report entitled “K-12 Education: School Districts Need Better Information to Help Improve Access for People with Disabilities.” The report found that a staggering two-thirds of public schools have physical barriers that limit access for people, including students, with disabilities and may be out of compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) nearly thirty years after its passage. School districts that participated in GAO surveys and in-person site assessments cited a lack of outreach, technical assistance, and guidance from the Department of Justice, which is responsible for the majority of enforcement efforts of the historic civil rights law, as well as funding constraints as major obstacles to bringing their facilities into full compliance. The report was requested by the three Members in April 2018. “Our public schools and the education they provide are critical in helping students reach their full potential
and achieve their dreams,” said House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY). “Unfortunately, this GAO report shows that thirty years after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, many of our schools still
have significant physical barriers that could limit access for people with disabilities. I urge the administration to immediately adopt GAO’s recommendations to address the prevalence of these barriers, and I look forward to working with my colleagues
in Congress to continue to advance the fight for disability rights.” The most common physical barriers cited were steep ramps and lack of accessible door hardware, which were typically found in common areas, like restrooms, interior doorways, and classrooms. While seemingly minor, these design flaws can have profound impacts on the safety and well-being of individuals with disabilities, especially students who spend the majority of their day on campus. The report also found that in the rush to make school campuses safer in the era of widespread gun violence and mass shootings, with a lack of coordinating guidance, these efforts often come at the expense of accessibility upgrades or inadvertently jeopardize the safety and security of people with disabilities. The report focused on three key recommendations that the Department of Justice, and other federal agencies that assist with ADA enforcement, must take to help school districts improve compliance:
The impetus for the study came after the former U.S. District Attorney for the Southern District of New York issued a scathing report in 2015 on the state of compliance in New York City’s public school system. The analysis found that nearly 83 percent of schools were not fully accessible. Other local and national media, and former New York City Public Advocate Tish James, had also reported on the City’s failure to provide adequate accommodations for students with physical disabilities. Even before the pandemic, chronic neglect of America’s public schools forced students and educators across the country to learn and work in outdated and hazardous school buildings. Now, the COVID19 pandemic has exacerbated the consequences of our failure to make necessary investments in school infrastructure. On May 15, House Democrats passed the Heroes Act, which directs more than $100 billion in emergency education funding to help schools cover unexpected costs that are necessary to reopening safely. It also provides nearly a $1 trillion in state and local funding to fill unprecedented budget shortfalls that will likely lead to devastating cuts to public education. On July 1, House Democrats passed the Moving Forward Act, which invests $130 billion toward repairing and modernizing school facilities that endanger the health and safety of students and school staff. To access the full GAO report, please click here: https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-20-448 | |
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Today, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is releasing new science-based resources and tools for school administrators, teachers, parents, guardians, and caregivers when schools open this fall.
With states, cities, and coCDC releases new resources and tools to support opening schoolsmmunities around the United States experiencing different levels of coronavirus transmission, jurisdictions should ensure appropriate public health strategies are in place to slow the spread of COVID-19 as the first step in creating a safer school environment. Then, working in collaboration with their state and local health departments, school administrators can employ strategies that best match the local conditions and actions that are practical and feasible in their schools to help protect the health and safety of everyone – including students, teachers, and other staff.
“It is critically important for our public health to open schools this fall,” said CDC Director Dr. Robert R. Redfield. “The CDC resources released today will help parents, teachers and administrators make practical, safety-focused decisions as this school year begins. I know this has been a difficult time for our Nation’s families. School closures have disrupted normal ways of life for children and parents, and they have had negative health consequences on our youth. CDC is prepared to work with K-12 schools to safely reopen while protecting the most vulnerable.”
The resources and tools made available today support how to open schools safely by promoting behaviors that prevent spread, altering how a school and school day is structured, and outlining how to keep the school environment healthy through cleaning, proper ventilation, and other practices. The resources and tools also describe what to do to guard against someone who might be sick from infecting others and what to do if this occurs.
The resources, available at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/index.html, also provide students, school administrators, parents, guardians, or caregivers the information they need to guide their decision-making on attending in-person curriculum and how to adapt to local conditions.