WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) yesterday hosted a Virtual COVID-19 Listening Session with K-12 School Administrators with two dozen school districts from across the 13th Congressional District participating. The discussion focused on the status of each district's transition back to in-person learning and what needs to happen to accomplish that transition. There were three common issues raised by local school administrators: funding, vaccines, and public health guidance.
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Area schools who participated were: Edwardsville School District 7, Bunker Hill Community Unit School District 8, Calhoun Community Unit School District 40, Greenfield Community Unit School District 10, Carlinville Community Unit School District 1, and Gillespie Community Unit School District 7, and North Greene Unit 3. Edwardsville School District 7 Superintendent Dr. Jason Henderson represented the district in the call and is shown above.
There was a strong desire to see the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSA) funding for schools be distributed expeditiously and with maximum flexibility. Rep. Davis voted for CRRSA in December, 2020 which included $54.3 billion for K-12 public schools to assist with reopening for in-person learning. The State of Illinois' allocation is $2.25 billion which is about four times more than what was provided through the CARES Act last year.
The need was also made clear for updated Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) guidance on reopening schools safely. New CDC school reopening guidance is expected as early as this week.
Vaccine availability was also brought up as an issue by some school leaders. Earlier this week, Rep. Davis met with county health departments to discuss this issue. In-person K-12 employees are eligible under IDPH vaccine guidelines and supply continues to grow as production ramps up.
In addition to the reopening issues school officials would like to see the U.S. Department of Education (ED) waive standardized testing requirements for the 2020-2021 school year. The Department took that action for the 2019-2020 school year as well.
"The vast majority of schools across my district are providing full-time or at least partial in-person learning and I am grateful for the administrators, teachers, and students for making that happen," said Davis. "I represent both rural and urban school districts and recognize they face different sets of challenges, but it is important we all work together to get schools reopened. I voted for additional federal funding for schools and vaccine distribution in December and that funding is on the way. Our kids deserve the best learning environment we can give them. That is undeniably in-person instruction and the science shows we can make that happen sooner rather than later."
Participant School Districts:
Argenta-Oreana CUSD 1, Bloomington SD 87, Blue Ridge CUSD 18, Bunker Hill CUSD 8, Calhoun CUSD 40, Carlinville CUSD 1, Central A & M CUSD 21, Clinton CUSD 15, Decatur SD 61, Edwardsville CUSD 7, Gillespie CUSD 7, Greenfield CUSD 10, Heyworth CUSD 4, Litchfield CUSD 12, McLean County Unit 5, Mount Olive CUSD 5, North Greene Unit 3, Olympia CUSD 16, Panhandle CUSD 2, Rochester CUSD 3A, South Fork SD 14, Springfield CUSD 186, Taylorville CUSD 3, Warrensburg-Latham CUSD 11
