Political Quotes

“reserving the right to object, I have said before that we all want to make sure our schools can stay safely open for in-person learning. But based on this legislation, it is not clear that is true for all of my Republican colleagues. Look, this is straightforward. If you want education decisions to happen at the local level, you do not tie the hands of State and local officials when they are trying to keep their students and educators safe. And if you want schools to be able to stay safely open and bring some stability and certainty back to our classrooms, you don't cut schools off from the resources they need just because you think you know better than the parents and local officials about how this pandemic is progressing in their community or how they should use tools like masks. I am a former preschool teacher, parent advocate, and school board member. But let's be honest, you don't need classroom experience to see that right now the very last thing we should be doing is denying schools the tools and resources to help kids learn safely. The data is clear. We have real work to do to help our students make up for an incredibly tough 2 years. Now, Democrats actually passed legislation--the American Rescue Plan--which invests specifically in helping our students recover academically and mentally. The proposal from the Senator from Arkansas would put our students' recovery and safe in-person learning in jeopardy.…”