Fall School Openings: The Blame Game

Blame

There are those that want the public schools opened and their sports back in action. The petitions have started and the complaining is getting louder. If you have a strong opinion, you’ll want to make sure you are directing it appropriately.

Who is responsible for opening the schools in the fall? It seems like petitions and complains should be aimed at the administration of the school district, or more specifically the superintendent. He is, after all the CEO of the district and calling the shots. Right?

Well, not quite.

He is guided by the school board. So clearly the school board can make the decision on opening the school and getting things back to “normal”. The school board sets calendars, start times, and other serious district decisions, so they should be able to declare the opening of the schools. Right?

Well, not quite.

If you recall, it was the Governor that choose to shut down the schools within the state of Indiana. It was the Governor’s office that said buildings were closed until June 30th. He was the one who determined it was better for the kids to be out of the buildings. If he was the one that had the power to close them, then clearly he is the one that can declare they open. Right?

Well, not quite.

There is a Department of Education (DOE) that can weigh in on the decision. Of course, if the Indiana DOE is going to get involved, they are likely to work with the Governor and make recommendations to him. But they can make the recommendation to open and thus have it happen. Right?

Well, not quite.

There is also federal involvement for schools. This can include the Federal DOE as well as others. While I don’t have the authority to close the schools, they can make the recommendation. They could also make the recommendation to open the schools, which could force the issue of them opening. Right?

Well, not quite.

There are also organizations like the Center for Disease Control (CDC). The CDC has the ability to define guidelines for opening the schools. In fact, the CDC has done this. There are memes flowing on the internet that show some of the guidelines the CDC has already stated. Note that some of the memes misrepresent the guidelines, so you are best to read the roughly 4 pages in the full document rather than the snapshot memes. So if schools follow these guidelines from the CDC, then they should be able to open. Right?

Well, not quite.

The reality is, all of these groups impact the opening of schools. It isn’t just one of them, but all of them that must align. For schools to open, CDC guidelines need to be incorporated (this is a topic for its own article), the politicians have to align, the school system has to set up what is needed, and then the school board and administration have to come to an agreement that the kids are safe and everything is in place. If a school board want to open, they might not be able to due to the other groups. If the Governor wants them open, it still might not happen if a district can’t incorporate CDC guidelines.

While it might seem like a simple decision to open or not open, there are a lot of factors that complicate it. As Fall gets closer, remember that there are a lot of players in the decision and avoid playing the blame game. The best things to push for is that they all do what is best for our kids – what is best physically, mentally and emotionally. There are a lot of people involved and a lot of factors to weigh. Each of the groups is looking at different aspects of the decision. Before trying to blame any one person or group, we need to make sure we have all of the details from all the groups.

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