Thirty-three Senate Democrats want Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to establish guidance for school districts and higher education institutions to deal with the coronavirus outbreak.
Their comments came in a letter to Devos on Tuesday. The letter was spearheaded by Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., according to The Hill.
“We do not yet know the scale at which K-12 and IHEs (institutions of higher education) across the county may need to close in order to help contain the spread of COVID-19, but we urge you to do everything you can to ensure you are continuing to prepare stakeholders for a variety of scenarios,” the Democrats said in the letter.
“As the virus continues to spread throughout the United States, many schools have closed, and it is becoming increasingly likely many more will choose to do so.
“As schools prepare to make these difficult decisions, they are faced with many legal and practical uncertainties and are looking for clear guidance and direction from the (Education) department.”
The senators noted they were particularly concerned “by the adverse impact of school closures on certain students and families. They pointed out many families are reliant on the Federal School Lunch Program and “may experience food insecurity” if schools are closed.
The senators posed 14 questions for DeVos, including what to do about the school lunch program and what can be done with provide assistance to families without home computers or access to high-speed internet in the event of school closures.
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