ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Central Florida parents and teachers are reacting to new guidelines released Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about how to reopen schools safely, especially after schools here have already been open for in-person learning for months.
What You Need To Know
- The CDC released Friday new recommendations on how to reopen schools safetly
- In Central Florida, though, schools have been open for in-person learning for months
- The main points outlined in the recommendations have already been implemented in districts like Orange County
In the guidelines the CDC says schools should do 5 key things:
- Universal and correct use of masks
- Physical distancing
- Hand washing and respiratory etiquette
- Cleaning and maintaining facilities
- Contact tracing and quarantines
School districts like Orange County have been doing those things all year.
“I’ve felt very safe with my children returning to school,” said Orange County mom Brianne Griffis.
She said she feels the precautions at her child’s school have worked well.
“In the last seven years of my 9-year-old’s life that he’s been in a school setting, every year between August and November, December he’s been sick," Griffis said. "And this is the only year he hasn’t. So that has to say something."
State Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran praised Gov. Ron DeSantis and school leaders Friday for having already implemented the CDC's strategies.
But there are a couple things in the guidelines that haven’t been done in Central Florida, like determining when schools should reopen based on how bad community spread of the virus is.
Corcoran called the guidelines “informative” but said schools should, “stay the course they began in Summer 2020.”
The CDC also said, as it has before, that vaccines for teachers are not necessary to reopen schools safely.
That is a point that angers Central Florida teachers like Matthew Panzano.
“Personally, I’m insulted," he said. "And I don’t think that’s too far to say."
He said teachers like him say they carry fear about the virus with them every time they walk into their classroom.
That fear, though, could be alleviated with a simple fix, he said.
“Around this state, you would see celebrations everywhere if there was just a simple decision of a green light to get all teachers vaccines in the state of Florida,” Panzano said.
While the CDC guidelines do not say teacher vaccinations are necessary to reopen schools, they do support Panzano’s request by calling on state leaders to prioritize teachers in vaccination efforts.
That is something DeSantis, so far, has not indicated he will do.
President Joe Biden also commented on the new guidelines, saying they were made with the best science available.
He added in his statement that the guidelines can only be implemented correctly if Congress provides funding by passing his $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan.