Even before the coronavirus outbreak, the last day of school for most students in Florida was the end of May or early June.
After the outbreak, the state closed public schools through Friday, May 1, which in theory means schools could reopen on Monday, May 4. That would leave most school districts would have a few weeks left in the year — a month, tops — if they stick with the current calendar.
What is the point? Governor Ron DeSantis needs to end the suspense and announce that public schools will remain closed until at least the start of the 2020-21 school year.
Instead, the governor has been toying with the notion of reopening campuses as part of his overall plan to start getting things back to normal.
“If it’s safe, we want kids to be in school. I think most parents want that,” DeSantis said last week. “Even if it’s for a couple of weeks, we think there would be value in that.”
Like DeSantis, everyone is Florida is yearning for a return to something resembling normal.
But when you weigh the risk versus the reward, sending kids, teachers and staff back to schools for a few weeks seems foolhardy and dangerous.
Fox News personality Dr. Mehmet Oz disagrees. On Sean Hannity’s show, a place where reason goes to die each night, Oz mused that the collateral loss of life from reopening schools “might be a trade-off some folks would consider.”
On that morbid calculation, count us out.
DeSantis was correct when he said last week that the virus’ risks to young people are slight (though he incorrectly said no one under 25 in the United States had died from COVID-19).
Fewer than a dozen kids under 15 have been hospitalized in Florida because of the disease, and fewer than 50 people who are 15-24 years old.
But more than 40% of the people hospitalized in Florida so far have been 25-64 years old, and they comprise the bulk of Florida’s public education workforce.
It’s easy to imagine a typical classroom scene with younger children rushing to hug their older teachers like little contagion ambassadors. Social distancing doesn’t come naturally to younger children. Neither does the kind of hygiene needed during a pandemic.
The union representing Florida’s teachers this week pleaded with DeSantis to continue distance learning but call it a year when it comes to sending everyone back to schools.
For close to a month now, teachers, students and parents throughout Florida have worked hard to adapt to distance learning.
It’s not perfect, but it beats the alternative, which is further disruption for the sake of a few weeks back at school, a few weeks of heightened risk of infection for people who have diligently tried to be responsible by isolating themselves.
Some teachers likely wouldn’t even return to classrooms out of fear of becoming infected and taking it home to their families. Many parents would keep their kids home for the same reason.
Superintendents across the state are acting on the assumption their schools will remain shuttered until August or September at the earliest. They’re focused on trying to salvage some teaching and learning through long-distance instruction until the school year ends.
Even Dr. Anthony Fauci, the face of President Trump’s coronavirus task force, offered this generic warning when asked about Florida possibly reopening schools: “If you have a situation where you don’t have a real good control over an outbreak and you allow children together, they will likely get infected.”
Florida might have a better argument about having “real good control” over the outbreak if it had in place a bulletproof system to test enough people for the coronavirus before they return to classrooms.
We don’t have this under control. We’re not ready. Florida had the highest number of deaths yet on Tuesday, with 72 people dying from COVID-19.
Enough already. Teachers and students need to focus on doing the best they can through distance learning with what remains of the school year. People are worried and anxious enough as it is without the stress of wondering if they’ll have to risk infection by being forced back into the classroom.
Half the nation’s states — blue and red alike — have closed their schools for the rest of the year, states like Georgia, Oregon, New Mexico and Pennsylvania. Businesses like Universal Orlando have made the call, too, deciding to remain closed through May.
Put this issue to rest, Gov. DeSantis. It’s a hard call, but it’s an obvious one.
Editorials are the opinion of the Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board and are written by one of its members or a designee. The editorial board consists of Opinion Editor Mike Lafferty, Jennifer A. Marcial Ocasio, Jay Reddick, David Whitley and Editor-in-Chief Julie Anderson. Send emails to insight@orlandosentinel.com.
