If it was meant as a signal, it was a powerful one. On her first full day as first lady, Jill Biden welcomed two teachers unions’ presidents to the White House.
“Joe is going to be a champion for you because he knows that’s the best way to serve our students,” she told them.
The words illuminate one of the early controversies roiling President Biden’s administration: how to make good on a promise to follow the science in tackling the coronavirus pandemic while also reopening schools. At the same time, preserving the support of the powerful labor groups that helped propel him to power.
The result has been conflicting signals from within the administration about when and how schools will reopen. An embarrassing spat with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was followed by questions about whether the Biden administration was playing fast and loose with a target of opening most public schools in its first 100 days.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell summed up the concerns, accusing the administration of putting politics ahead of science.
“An administration that puts facts and science first would be conducting a full-court press to open schools,” McConnell said on the Senate floor.
Republicans see a wedge issue that they can use in the midterm elections, picking off parents who worry their children are losing out on crucial years of their education. They cite evidence suggesting the risk of transmission on campuses is low.
But Democratic governors have also made clear their concerns about how private schools are open, but most public schools remain closed. It is an awkward look for an administration that has elevated the notion of “equity” throughout its policy priorities.
How the tensions are resolved will become more apparent on Friday, when the CDC is expected to publish its safe reopening guidelines.
Science will always guide my Administration.
— President Biden (@POTUS) January 28, 2021
The political tension at the heart of the issue is the teachers unions’ position, which has raised vaccination as critical to protecting members.
In Los Angeles, for example, teachers remain deadlocked with politicians over plans to reopen. United Teachers Los Angeles President Cecily Myart-Cruz said, “When Gov. Gavin Newsom says schools are safe to reopen without vaccines, he should also tell us what he believes a safe number of deaths associated with that would be.”
Last week, the CDC director made clear which way the guidance was likely to go.
“There is increasing data to suggest that schools can safely reopen and that safe reopening does not suggest that teachers need to be vaccinated,” said Dr. Rochelle Walensky. “Vaccination of teachers is not a prerequisite for the safe reopening of schools.”
That sent shock waves around the White House, which was still trying to coax unions along. Press secretary Jen Psaki said that Walensky was speaking in “her personal capacity,” even though she had made the comments during a COVID-19 briefing with reporters.
“Obviously, she’s the head of the CDC, but we’re going to wait for the final guidance to come out so we can use that as a guide for schools around the country,” said Psaki.
Scientists immediately sensed a slight and an administration having to try to walk back its scientists.
“Undermining new CDC Director 3 weeks in is not a good look,” wrote Joseph Allen, associate professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, on Twitter.
The CDC guidelines expect to focus on hand-washing strategies, wearing masks, social distancing, cleaning, and ventilation, along with policies for contact tracing, isolation, and quarantine.
But CNN reported that vaccinations could be proposed as another strategy to “layer” on top of the first.
But after a year of closures and often hostile debate about how to handle reopenings, it is uncertain whether the CDC’s word will be seen as final, much to the frustration of Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida, where many school districts have been open since August.
“Following the science means following the science, irrespective of what teacher unions or career academics have to say. School closures have devastated millions of American families for nearly a year, and the data is in, schools can reopen safely,” he said.
“The Biden administration continues to send mixed messages while giving a wink and a nod to the teacher unions while our children’s educational future is hanging in the balance.”
