Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker says he wants students to return to classrooms by April.
Baker, a Republican, and Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley both shared their views on resuming in-person learning during a press conference on Tuesday afternoon.
“Our administration has been clear for months [that] the best place for kids is in the classroom, and today, Commissioner Riley started a process … to get more kids back into the classroom full time by phasing out remote-only learning in April,” Baker said.
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Riley announced that he will be asking the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to grant him the authority “to determine when the hybrid and remote models no longer count for learning hours.”
The commissioner, who vowed to “take a phased-in approach to returning students to the classroom” in consultation with public health officials, said he would bring back all elementary school students to in-person learning five days a week in April. He added that middle school students would be brought back later in the year and “possibly” high school students as well.
After the press conference, Baker tweeted that “the science is clear” that “kids can safely return to classrooms.”
The science is clear: Kids can safely return to classrooms, where they are best-positioned to grow + thrive.
That’s why we’ve made funding, supplies + public health tools available for districts.
Today @MASchoolsK12 is taking steps to promote in-person learning this school year pic.twitter.com/rfHTNdLPW4
— Charlie Baker (@MassGovernor) February 23, 2021
Leaders across the nation are grappling with differing approaches to returning students to classrooms roughly a year into the coronavirus pandemic.
President Biden said he hoped most of the United States would resume in-person learning within the first 100 days of his administration. Stopping short of pushing for vaccinations for teachers as a prerequisite for reopening schools, as many teachers unions have demanded, the administration has stressed that vaccinating educators remains a “priority.”
“Teachers should be a priority [for vaccinations],” Vice President Kamala Harris said on Wednesday.
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Representatives for Baker did not immediately reply to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.
