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This petition is to help engage the school committees and government officials working on this issue to listen to our suggestions. To take into consideration when finalizing all of the guidelines that the children participating in the remote learning programs cannot be forgotten. To remind them, all of the children participating in remote learning, are still enrolled within the public school system. These children should not be treated differently because they are not inside of the building. They should be given the exact same benefits as any other student enrolled in their school.

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Yes, the state of CT came out with a very vague outline of the school re-opening strategy. However, this vague outline is not requiring every school district in the state to follow their recommendations. In another word, they are not required to provide the parents of the school aged children with any alternative options or the opportunity to an equal education. 

What does equal access to education mean?
Universal access to education is the ability of all people to have equal opportunity in education, regardless of their social class, gender, ethnicity background or physical and mental disabilities.

Why is equality in education important?
An equitable education system helps all students develop the knowledge and skills they need to be engaged and become productive members of society. More importantly, giving all children an equitable start would lead to better economic and social outcomes for individuals, for regions, and for our nation.

***OUR CHILDREN HAVE THE RIGHT TO AN EQUAL EDUCATION!****

• Why have we not received the option to have materials, the same materials other children will be using at the schools, offered to the children who will remain home?
• The guidance counselors helping the children cope with the new operations at school, shouldn't the children at home be offered the same counseling treatment by the school? 
• Why are our children whom will be continuing virtual learning not offered the opportunity to virtually socialize with their fellow classmates? 
• Why are the children continuing virtual learning not offered an equal opportunity to participate in the unified arts that the physically present children are being offered?
• Why are the children remaining home not offered a tutor or a weekly check-in visit with a tutor of some degree?  

THE PARENTS SHOULD HAVE TOTAL CONTROL OVER WETHER THEY SEND THEIR CHILDREN BACK TO SCHOOL WITHOUT THE FEAR OF JEOPARDIZING THEIR EDUCATION. PARENTS SHOULD HAVE MULTIPLE OPTIONS PERTAINING TO WHAT IS IN THE BEST INTEREST OF THEIR CHILD. WHY IS IT ACCEPTABLE TO LEAVE WHAT IS BEST FOR OUR CHILDREN IN THE HANDS OF THE GOVERNMENT SOLEY?! WHY ARE WE ALLOWING THE CHILDREN REMAINING HOME TO GO WITHOUT? SHOULDN'T PARENTS HAVE A CHOICE WHETHER OR NOT THEY WANT TUTORS, COUNSELING, OR ANYTHING ELSE FOR THAT MATTER?

The government does not know your child. The board of education does not wake up every morning with your child. The CDC does not prepare your child's meals, help them tie their shoes, or read them their favorite story. These organizations that have total control over your child's well-being, don't know your child's name if you asked them. 

Every child is in a different stage of life, a different stage of health and development.   Every child is coping with the pandemic differently. Not one child is the same as the next, so why is one solution best for all of our children? 

We, as parents, have only been presented with 3 options thus far. 

1. Send our children back to school when told to do so while following the guidelines that have not been finalized yet.
2. Pay the costly tuition to unenroll your students from public schools and homeschool your child. (Which is well beyond most parents financial limitations.)
3. Risk our child's education being disrupted by doing our best to teach them at home until we feel it is safe to return to school because they have failed to provide parents with ANY insight to planning accommodations for remote learning. The only information we have on remote learning at this point in time is they have made it an OPTION for public schools to offer it to their students. 

Gov. Ned Lamont, the CT Board of Education, and all other organizations have NOT told parents that they will not be providing materials to students that are going to be participating in remote learning, they have NOT informed parents that they WILL be providing any materials either.

As we stand, these organizations have only sent out 1 survey to parents. That survey was mainly focused on children returning to school in the coming school year. It did ask if our children would be participating in remote learning, but nothing else pertaining to it. The survey was centralized on how the school can make parents feel safe sending their children back to school. There is speculation and many rumors that there will be more surveys centralized around remote learning to come in the following weeks, but no officials have declared that as of this point.

Why have the CT public schools, the CT Board of Education, and even Gov. Ned Lamont shut us out from having the ability of deciding what is best for our children? Why have they not provided us with an alternative form of equal education?  Why have they made parents feel limited during the pandemic?

Why have we been denied a voice in all of this?

Please keep in mind, all of the children participating in remote learning, at still enrolled within the public school system. These children should not be treated differently because they are not inside of the building. They should be given the exact same benefits as any other student enrolled in their school.

_____________________________________________________

This petition is to help engage the school committees and government officials working on this issue to listen to our suggestions. To take into consideration when finalizing all of the guidelines that the children participating in the remote learning programs cannot be forgotten. To remind them, all of the children participating in remote learning, are still enrolled within the public school system. These children should not be treated differently because they are not inside of the building. They should be given the exact same benefits as any other student enrolled in their school.

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Ideally, I would love to see the school district come up with a virtual suggestion box for parents, so may be talking about doing just that, but some have not given that a thought at this point. I want parents to have more of a say in the matter, a much louder voice than they have been given. 

Whether it comes from one parent, the board of education, the CDC, or if it comes from the government, our children's education, safety, and well being will never have a "one size fits all" solution. Regardless, each child still deserves the right to an equal education regardless of their current circumstance.

Yes, the CDC guidelines will provide our children with protection against COVID-19, but are we forgetting all of these children are still developing? Are we putting their mental health needs aside for our personal gain? Should decreasing the unemployment rates really play a role in the deciding factors of our children returning to school? 

Your children are fragile. Your children are still learning who they will become as adults whether they are just starting pre-k or going onto 12th grade. These emotionally scaring regulations could disrupt every ounce of your child's emotional being, or maybe your child needs to be out of the social isolation because they're emotional being is in jeopardy. 

Reguardless of where you stand in all of this, it should be the individual parents choice. Parents should have multiple options to make the best decision for their child based on what their specific child needs, not what the government needs,  not what the school needs, and not what the economy needs. You should not be made to feel that one child's education is not the same as the other.

The lives and the futures of our children are effected by the choices we make for them. Be the one to continue making those choices!

PARENTS: Just because the government says this is the solution they came up with, it doesn't mean it is the best solution for YOUR CHILD. It doesn't mean your child is being offered the same education as the next child. Only you know what's best for your child! 

GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS: Give parents the right to choose what is best for their children. Give the children an equal right to education. Don't force parents to jump through hoops to do what they feel is best for THEIR child. Give parents more options! AFFORDABLE and OBTAINABLE options!

EDUCATORS: We all know most of you do not have a say in the guidelines or conditions you will have to endure in the fall and we are grateful for all you do to help our children learn and grow.