We’re learning from the New York Post that Mayor Bill de Blasio’s planned opening of public schools on September 10 might be pushed back a month because the teachers union is threatening a walk-out unless every student and staffer in the school system is tested for the coronavirus before in-classroom learning can restart.
Corey DeAngelis, director of school choice at the Reason Foundation, has some shocking news: teachers unions and politics are determining which schools are staying closed and which will reopen.
BREAKING: School reopenings are linked to union influence and politics, not safety.
— Corey A. DeAngelis (@DeAngelisCorey) August 19, 2020
School districts in states that required union membership are 25 percentage points less likely to reopen schools in-person this fall.
— Corey A. DeAngelis (@DeAngelisCorey) August 19, 2020
38% of school districts in Right to Work states are planning to reopen in-person
Only 13% of school districts in unionized states are planning to do the same.
— Corey A. DeAngelis (@DeAngelisCorey) August 19, 2020
School districts in states with stronger teachers unions are also significantly less likely to reopen in-person this fall
73% of school districts in Florida are planning to reopen in-person
Only 4% are planning to do so in California, a state with much stronger teachers unions.
— Corey A. DeAngelis (@DeAngelisCorey) August 19, 2020
But school district reopenings are not statistically related to Covid-19 cases or deaths per capita.
This finding was also highlighted by Jon Valant at Brookings Institution:https://t.co/B9ltjc0vrk
— Corey A. DeAngelis (@DeAngelisCorey) August 19, 2020
The reopening decisions are statistically related to politics.
As Jon Valant found, the higher percentage of Trump voters in the area, the higher the likelihood of school districts reopening in-person this fall.
— Corey A. DeAngelis (@DeAngelisCorey) August 19, 2020
Here are the results from the analysis
School districts in unionized states are substantially less likely to reopen in-person.
Cases and deaths per capita aren't statistically related to reopening. pic.twitter.com/8d5cejwwGR
— Corey A. DeAngelis (@DeAngelisCorey) August 19, 2020
Here are the results for teachers union strength
School districts in states with stronger teachers unions are significantly less likely to reopen in-person.
Again, no relationship between Covid-19 cases and deaths per capita and school district reopening decisions. pic.twitter.com/a02M57exeX
— Corey A. DeAngelis (@DeAngelisCorey) August 19, 2020
Here's my latest article highlighting these new findings at @Reason
"School Reopenings Linked to Union Influence and Politics, Not Safety"https://t.co/TaDZOxVGHk
— Corey A. DeAngelis (@DeAngelisCorey) August 19, 2020
Gee what a surprise…NOT!
— PolitiCat (@Politicat45) August 19, 2020
All politics. Only politics. https://t.co/oRK0RHYIu0
— Phil Kerpen (@kerpen) August 19, 2020
And the kids and families are left behind
— Ariel Rheinhardt (@IdahoCowgirl24) August 19, 2020
If families need somewhere to park their kids for their remote learning, they can always pay one or two hundred bucks a week to send them to … school, which will now be a “learning center.”
Related:
Another city reopens elementary schools as ‘learning centers,’ charges fee on top of property taxes https://t.co/BuEx672c9I
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) August 15, 2020
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