Plan Advances To Require In-Person K-12 Learning For Schoolyear

By Sherman Smith, Kansas Reflector

March 22, 2021

TOPEKA — Rep. Valdenia Winn wasn’t amused Monday when the House erupted in laughter as she expressed her concerns with forcing K-12 educators to provide in-person learning for the remainder of the schoolyear.

The Kansas City Democrat was addressing comments made by Rep. Sean Tarwater, a Republican from Stillwell who had pointed out the poor performance by students in her district, when she was interrupted by a loud noise.

“You want me to start over,” Winn asked, and was met with laughter.

“This is not funny,” she responded.

This was the second time the House has debated a proposal like the one now embedded in Senate Bill 63. Earlier legislation that passed the Senate but failed to receive support in the House would have required all schools to provide an in-person learning option, forever and without exception, as of March 26. Now, the plan is to make schools offer in-person learning for just this schoolyear, starting March 31.

Winn said the tweaks don’t change “the peanut” of the bill.

“We have the authority to do anything we want,” Winn said. “We have passed some of the worst bills ever. We have stood up here — and I won’t name names of folks who have said, ‘I know this is illegal, but we have the numbers.’ So we can do what we want to do. But changing the date, from March 26, to March 31? You do the math.”

Winn said she refused to “take the bait” from Tarwater regarding the worst-performing schools.
“Why don’t we work together on trying to figure out how we improve those scores instead of standing up here and saying this is the solution?” Winn said. “But I’ve extended that olive branch. I have yet to to receive any acceptance.”

She urged members of the House to vote against the proposal, “regardless of who yells the loudest.” The House advanced the legislation but didn’t take a final vote.

Most K-12 schools in Kansas already have returned to in-person learning, although some larger districts have maintained a hybrid approach.

Tarwater told House members they should support the proposed mandate for in-person learning because remote learning adversely affects children’s mental health.

“We all know that,” Tarwater said. “We’re deteriorating our children’s social skills. We’re widening the huge education gap that exists between the wealthy families and the families that live in poverty. We’re keeping parents, single parents, from finding much needed employment in today’s world, or even causing some parents to leave their young children at home alone because they have to.”

And, he contended, “there is no scientific data” to support remote learning.

“Here’s the science that we know today,” Tarwater said. “We know that the flu is more dangerous to this demographic than COVID-19.”

In a written statement, Lee Norman, secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, disputed Tarwater’s understanding of science.

“Both COVID 19 and influenza can cause serious illness and death in children,” Norman said. “Children with underlying medical conditions are at higher risk of serious illness, but even children who are otherwise healthy become gravely ill with both COVID-19 and flu.”

KDHE numbers show one child in Kansas has died and 36,000 have tested positive for COVID-19.

Rep. Stephanie Clayton, D-Overland Park, questioned why Republicans were pressing the issue, “aside from some potentially nefarious political reason.”

“The last thing that parents need is a hasty reopening where we can’t plan our child care, where we can’t plan our schedule,” Clayton said. “And if we have another outbreak, and we have to close down again, then that makes it difficult for us.”

Rep. Chuck Smith, R-Pittsburg, said committee hearings have demonstrated that virtual communication is not as good as in-person communication.

“It doesn’t say a whole lot for a teacher if you don’t need to meet those people in person,” Smith said.