School reopening resources
The National Alliance of Public Charter Schools continues to update its website section dedicated to reopening resources. You can find the latest information on building safety and student re-entry, state-by-state guidance, and more.
Ohio’s reopening guidance
Governor Mike DeWine recently released his guidance for K-12 school reopening. His science-focused framework included recommendations and requirements on things such as mask wearing, monitoring for symptoms, social distancing, sanitizing protocols for surfaces and rooms, and more. The governor urged common sense implementation and an abundance of caution on the part of schools and districts.
An important reminder on the transportation of students
While it has not yet emerged into the news media, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Paolo DeMaria this week released a bulletin to all district superintendents in the state, reminding them that transporting eligible resident students attending charter and private schools remains their responsibility. “Nothing in state law allows a school district to prioritize the needs of its own students” over those of charter and private school students, he wrote. Nothing about the gravity of the pandemic situation should change that fact. DeMaria further strongly recommended that district officials meet with all impacted charter and private school leaders—as well as Joint Vocational School District leaders—in “a proactive manner” while creating their reopening plans for the fall.
More praise for Thomas Sowell’s new book
No less prestigious an outlet than the National Review dug into Thomas Sowell’s new book Charter Schools and Their Enemies. The review’s author, Kevin D. Williamson, summarizes Sowell’s data and analysis and concludes, “Our political culture is sick, and many of our institutions are corrupt. Many of them would not be capable of acting on what they could learn from [this book] even if they were so inclined, which they aren’t. Thomas Sowell is a national treasure in a nation that does not entirely deserve him.”
