School Is Essential: A petition to resume full-time in-person public education across Massachusetts School Districts  

Join us in demanding a return to full-time in-person learning in all Massachusetts Public Schools for those families who choose it. 

The signatories of this letter call on Governor Baker, Lieutenant Governor Polito, Secretary Peyser, and Commissioner Riley to take action now to reopen public schools across the Commonwealth. We urge these state leaders to do all that you can to truly prioritize the emotional, social, physical, and educational well-being of children in Massachusetts.  The data now clearly show that remote learning is an inadequate replacement for in-person learning; that schools are not the main sources of spread; that schools can open safely; and that Massachusetts has what it needs to do so. 

More recently, the Governor and his team has been vocal about the need to get children back in the classrooms, but the local response has been inconsistent and inadequate. Far too many school districts have stalled in their planning, claim they cannot implement in-person learning under the current guidelines, and are under-resourced to make the necessary planning happen. Children in public schools across the country and the globe – as well as in Massachusetts private and parochial schools – have been inside classrooms for months now. We need Massachusetts state leadership to take action that requires local districts to provide a full-time in-person education to Massachusetts students. 

We ask Governor Baker to mandate the re-opening of public schools in Massachusetts for full-time in-person learning.

We ask Governor Baker to issue revised guidelines that deal with the principle barriers precluding many districts from returning to in-person learning; specifically, (a) ensure districts are using the 3-6 ft range as opposed to adhering only to 6+ feet in order to get children back into classrooms; (b) clarify quarantine and “close contact” parameters, particularly in light of mask-wearing, to rectify inconsistencies with spacing guidelines; and (c) allow for waivers to current bus requirements that are logistically and financially infeasible for many districts. 

We ask Governor Baker to hold districts accountable to reopening, requiring each public school to make a full return to in-person learning by April 1, 2021 at the latest.

We ask Governor Baker to work with districts directly that are unable to meet guidelines and find solutions to re-open their schools to ensure that no child is deprived of an education because of a few inches or a lack of resources.

Learning remotely for months or years on end not only threatens many students’ mental health and educational progress, it also will widen the opportunity gap among students in a state that claims to hold equity as a core value. Many of our most vulnerable children are experiencing active harm every day they are out of school. Long-term, the consequences of this will be devastating. Our children urgently need our leaders to prioritize them and act accordingly.

SCHOOL IS ESSENTIAL.  WE DEMAND ACTION.

 

*After signing the petition, please consider providing your contact information to us here, to stay involved in future advocacy efforts by Bring Kids Back MA: BKBMA Google Form *) 

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Bring Kids Back MA is a fully parent-run group with no political affiliation or financial backing. The group was started by seven moms from across MA who have donated countless volunteer hours to this effort. BKB MA has since grown to be the collective voice of thousands of parents across MA advocating to get children back into the classroom.

Find us on FB at BKB MA Facebook 

Follow us on Twitter @BringKidsBackMA