Washington D.C. - After their efforts of encouraging schools to reopen around the country for in-person learning, the White House now formally declared teachers as part of essential workers.
The Trump administration's latest move is just a part of their campaign's move as they pressure the school districts to bring back students this fall. The essential worker designation provides guidance for the teachers as it calls on teachers to return to their classroom even after a potential infection exposure.
According to a source who is familiar with the decision, Vice President Mike Pence announced the decision to the governors via call just earlier this week.
Based on the guidance issued by the Department of Homeland Security this week, they now consider teachers as 'critical infrastructure workers' and they are currently subjected to the same kind of advisories as other workers having the same borne label, such as law enforcement officers and doctors, CNN reported.
The essential workers' guidance states that they can resume working even after exposure to an individual confirmed having coronavirus, provided that they remain asymptomatic.
Despite the big contribution of schools to the community spread of the COVID-19 and even the issue is on top of the concern for districts, the decision to open or close and pushing teachers to resume working after possible exposure will be controversial.
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On Friday, Pence made a public announcement stating that the administration has designated teachers as part of the essential workers but he also mentioned that it is a mandate.
According to Democracy Now, during a TV appearance Pence shared that there is no mandate but he emphasized that since teachers are declared essential workers, they will be prioritized for things such as PPE and support. He also mentioned that they want to get the kids back to school as they made sure that resources are available making the schools a safe environment to stay.
He also added that even his wife will be back in her classroom and will be teaching in next week.
Mike Pence's wife Karen Pence teaches art two days every week at Immanuel Christian School which is a private school located in Northern Virginia.
The source also added that the officials from the White House made the move to show how serious they are about education. Aside from that, it is also an attempt to stabilize the teaching workforce and the confusion about the future of classrooms.
President of the American Federation of Teachers, Randi Weingarten shared that the critical worker designation could be used in threatening, bullying, and coercion to teachers inside the classroom without the proper considerations.
Weingarten also mentioned that if the President really saw us as essential, he should act like it.
He added that teachers are and always have been essential workers but not essential enough as the administration only committed the resources necessary to keep them safe in the classroom.
Instead of having the protections available, we should create a plan and proper guidance in ensuring the schools to reopen safely by following the science, Weingarten added.
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