Dear Neighbors,
With thousands of Minnesota students still in remote learning, and school reopening guidance rumored to be coming in the coming days from the Walz administration, I was grateful to join with a handful of my colleagues at a news conference on Thursday to push for legislation to empower local school districts to make the best decisions for their districts and remove the Governor's ability to unilaterally keep schools closed.
Getting kids safely back in the classroom must be our top priority, and we cannot have a situation where the Governor can stand in the way. The bill we are advocating for simply restores power to our local school districts to make decisions locally. We want to empower parents, teachers, superintendents, and locally-elected school boards to plan and decide what works best for their community.
Local school districts are closest to their communities and always want what is in the best interest of students, parents, and teachers. There's no reason they should be looking over their shoulders worrying about consequences from the Governor and his agencies.
The science and data show we can safely get our students back in the classroom — even President Biden's Centers for Disease Control director said multiple times last week that we can safely return to in-person learning before all teachers are vaccinated.
It’s time to get kids back to school and stop the harm being done to their academic and mental wellbeing.
You can watch a replay of the news conference here.
Staying in Touch
Please be sure to reach out to me if you have any questions or concerns. I can be reached by phone at 651-296-6746 or via email at rep.sondra.erickson@house.mn.
Have a good day,
Sondra