Photo from the U.S. Department of Education via Flickr
School closure policies aggressively lobbied for by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), and specifically AFT president Randi Weingarten, caused avoidable and substantial harm to students, according to a 520-page report from the U.S. House of Representatives.
The Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic Committee on Oversight and Accountability recently concluded its two-year investigation of federal COVID-19 policies and their consequences and released its findings. The final report, “After Action Review of the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Lessons Learned and a Path Forward,” will serve as a “road map” for Congress, the Executive Branch, and the private sector “to prepare for and respond to future pandemics,” according to the Select Subcommittee’s press release.
A summary of some of the report’s findings pertaining to education include:
- “The ‘science’ never justified prolonged school closures. Children were unlikely to contribute to the spread of COVID-19 or suffer severe illness or mortality. Instead, as a result of school closures, children experienced historic learning loss, higher rates of psychological distress, and decreased physical well-being.” [pages 411-414]
- “The Biden Administration’s CDC broke precedent and provided a political teachers organization with access to its scientific school reopening guidance. Former CDC Director Rochelle Walensky asked the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) to provide specific language for the guidance and even went so far as to accept numerous edits made by AFT.” [pages 415-437]
- “The American Federation of Teachers did not support reopening schools and predicated its support for reopening schools on non-scientific policies.” [pages 415-437]
- “Schools remained closed longer than necessary because of AFT’s political interference in the CDC’s school reopening guidance. AFT is a political union, not a scientific organization, that advocated for mitigation efforts that prolonged school closures — including an automatic closure ‘trigger.’” [pages 415-437]
- “The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention accepted American Federation of Teachers edits to the operational strategy.” [pages 415-437]
- “Standardized test scores show that children lost decades worth of academic progress as a result of COVID-19 school closures. Mental and physical health concerns also skyrocketed — with suicide attempts by 12-17 year-aged girls rising 51%.” [pages 438-442]
According to Eric Hanushek, an economist at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University, academic setbacks due to school closures could cost pandemic-era students $31 trillion in total lifetime income. The losses per student are estimated to be two to nine percent of lifetime earnings depending on the state and the duration of school closures.
For Minnesota, based on average learning loss, Hanushek projects that students can expect over a seven percent loss in future income. This puts Minnesota as the 8th highest state in expected loss in lifetime income from school closure decisions and interrupted learning.
Hanushek also estimated the learning loss impact on a state’s average GDP (gross domestic product) for the remainder of the 21st century, with Minnesota’s expected GDP loss at just over 2.5 percent.
Minnesota educators who are union members pay roughly $300 a year to the AFT and its other national affiliate, the National Education Association (NEA).