9 Things Teachers Should Demand During Covid-19

Especially if you’re being required to work in person.

Before I get into the meat of this article, I want to point out something important: all of the things I’m proposing cost money. But this time, it may be money we have. Schools received sizable amounts in the spring CARES act, and most have held onto a portion of it, waiting to see how long in-person instruction lasts before purchasing more supplies. Both Democrats and Republicans have approved another wave of relief for public schools — this article simply provides a spending framework. If you belong to a teacher’s union, bring up these issues as a body. If you belong to a parent network, demand solutions from your school board. If you are a school leader, advocate for your teachers: it’s literally a matter of life and death.

1. Testing

The state of Minnesota is only providing one free saliva test to each educator between now and December 30th. This type of intervention may seem bold, but is practically useless since the results take 5–7 days and exposure can occur at any time. Where there is community spread and repeated close contact with large groups of individuals (a.k.a, schools), testing needs to be conducted frequently. Oklahoma just rolled out a plan to provide free monthly testing to teachers. However, the program is voluntary, which renders it an…