A recent FOIA release sho0ws that the largest teacher’s union in the country apparently shaped the CDC’s guidance on the opening of schools to in-class learning, totally ignoring the science behind it all. The American Federation of Teachers had an influence on the CDC’s school-reopening guidelines released on Feb. 12, 2021, according to the emails received by conservative watchdog group Americans for Public Trust.
This is clearly a case where money talks. Teacher’s unions are one of the top three contributors to the Democratic party. ironically, the Democrats continually accuse Republicans of ignoring science but in keeping schools closed, they are going directly against science. This is based on studies of schools that have reopened.
Money talks and constituents walk. Science also shows that students fare much worse with remote learning than they do with in-class studies.
The American Federation of Teachers lobbied the CDC heavily just before the CDC announced new guidelines on reopening the school’s emails between top CDC, AFT, and White House officials show. The emails show a flurry of activity between the unions and the CDC with the White House being kept in the loop. Those emails were sent just before the highly-anticipated Feb. 12 announcement on school-reopening guidelines.
AFT senior director for health issues Kelly Trautner wrote:
“Thank you again for Friday’s rich discussion about forthcoming CDC guidance and for your openness to the suggestions made by our president, Randi Weingarten, and the AFT.”
We were able to review a copy of the draft guidance document over the weekend and were able to provide some initial feedback to several staff this morning about possible ways to strengthen the document. We believe our experiences on the ground can inform and enrich thinking around what is practicable and prudent in future guidance documents.”
In a widely viewed CNN interview on Feb 14, anchor Jake Tapper grilled Walensky and demanded to know why the guidelines would allow schools in areas with high coronavirus community spread — know as “red zones” — to opt out of in-person reopening, noting that 99% of US kids fell within those areas, according to a CNN analysis.
“Can you point to any scientific reason for students in the United States not to return to in person classes tomorrow?” Tapper demanded several times.
“If you’re in middle school or high school we would advocate for virtual learning for that group … We really don’t want to bring community disease into the classroom,” Walensky replied, repeatedly refusing to offer a scientific explanation for the reopening avoidance. “We also know that mask breaching is among the reasons that we have transmission within schools when it happens. Somewhere around 60% of students are reliably masking. That has to be universal. So we have work to do.”
Walensky provided no scientific proof of her co9ntrention. But that is only because none exists.
