COVID-19 Back-to-School Decisions ... Am I More Terrified or Furious? (by Laura LeBrun Hatcher)

“Back to school” has been my favorite time of year since I was a kid looking forward to new friends, activities, things to learn, and (my favorite) school supplies. As a mom, I still look forward to the promise and potential a new school year brings (and I still love buying school supplies).

COVID-19 has made this back-to-school season quite different. Instead of selecting lunch boxes and folders, parents and teachers are sorting through complex strategies for school “reopening” (in-person, hybrid, or remote?!). We’re asked to decide which is worse: risking our children’s health or their education? Instead of feeling excited, this year I’m trying to decide if I’m more terrified, or more furious. 

My son Simon loves to see his friends and teachers at school and push his walker to top speed in running club. He also has cerebral palsy, hydrocephalus, epilepsy, autism, vision and hearing loss, physical and cognitive disabilities. Simon depends on school for therapy and education. He needs in-person support to keep from regressing in every area. 

Like many of our Little Lobbyists, Simon’s health conditions put him at-risk if he’s exposed to COVID-19. He’s part of that “less than 1%” the President and his supporters cite as unfortunate collateral damage when they demand – with threats of defunding education – that we physically send our children back to school during a pandemic. 

Since schools have begun to re-open, almost 100,000 children have been infected with COVID-19. We’re learning that kids can become seriously ill and some do die. I would have hoped the avoidable loss of one child’s life, regardless of pre-existing health conditions, would be one too many for our president. But I was wrong, and I am terrified. 

I’m terrified because we’re being told by our Nation’s leadership that we must learn to live with a rapidly spreading pandemic, get back to work, send our kids back to school, and hope everything will be okay. I see people ignoring public health experts and I see the resulting outbreaks of contagion. On our current course, I’m forced to wonder how many empty chairs our families will have around the table this holiday season. 

Seeking guidance, I asked my family’s pediatrician about sending my kids back to school, and this is what he said – “Our country’s response to this pandemic has made us the laughing stock of the world. In our Nation, this public health crisis has been politicized to the point that even CDC guidelines on opening schools is a joke. We are on our own.” 

He added that we don’t understand COVID-19 well enough, or have the resources we need, to keep our children safe in schools. While many kids don’t get sick, some become very, very ill. We don’t know the long-term effects of this virus in our systems. Our states and our schools don’t have the basic resources they need for testing or contact tracing, nor PPE, nor even cleaning supplies. 

He acknowledged that parents are in a terrible spot. We must choose between our children’s education and protecting their health. Working families, families of color, and families of kids with disabilities should never be forced to make these impossible decisions. Our pediatrician added, “If your child is one of the ones who gets sick, or if they spread the virus to teachers or staff or other family members – will you be able to live with the choices you made and the risks you took?” 

For me, the answer is no. My child’s life and the lives of our loved ones and community members are precious. But for the President, his administration, and so many in the GOP leadership, the answer is “yes” – and so, I am furious.

I’m furious because it didn’t have to be this way.  Other countries have been able to contain the virus, control its spread, safely reopen and send kids back to school – but we can’t.  In the United States, infections are rising, ICUs are filling, and people are dying. Why did we shut down our country this spring if we were going to reopen before the virus was controlled - throwing in the towel as soon as the President felt it was hurting his poll numbers? 

I’m furious because during a pandemic, when families need secure access to health care most of all, the Trump Administration is still trying to overturn the health care protections of the Affordable Care Act in the Supreme Court – protection my family relies on. I’m furious because the House passed the HEROES Act COVID-19 legislation in May – which provides funding for school systems, COVID-19 testing and tracing, hospitals, unemployment, nutrition assistance, home and community supports for people with disabilities, and so much more – and Senate Leadership won’t even discuss it. 

I’m furious because doctors and scientists are being muzzled and disparaged, because the President told our country to ingest bleach while my kids watched on TV, because  – as my pediatrician said – at the moment we most need trustworthy, compassionate, and competent leadership to protect our families’ health and futures - we are on our own.

I hope we won’t be on our own much longer. As we face this crisis, though I am terrified and furious, I’m also determined. There’s a general election coming and I will vote like our children’s lives depend on it. Because they do.

Laura LeBrun Hatcher is Simon’s mom and Little Lobbyists Director of Design and Communications.