Dahms: 'Let school districts decide how to safely reopen'

Last week a bill was introduced in the Minnesota Senate giving school districts the option to determine their own procedures and timelines for reopening. Senator Gary Dahms (R-Redwood Falls) released the following statement supporting the bill.
"Our children are the future, and it is imperative we get them safely back in the classroom," said Sen. Dahms. "Each school district is best prepared to determine their unique course of action to safely reopen their schools.
"Local school boards and community leaders know their districts and students best. They are the ones to make the best decisions on how to safely reopen their schools instead of state bureaucrats."
Mounting evidence shows schools pose a minimal risk in spreading the coronavirus including a Reuters report that studied 191 countries and found no clear link between school reopenings and coronavirus surges.
In addition, Axios looked at several studies and found schools are not Covid hotspots, and the Atlantic Magazine wrote that kids are not super-spreaders. The New York Times reported on evidence that schools (especially elementary schools) are not "stoking community transmission."
There is also agreement about the impact distance learning is having on students: The American Association of Pediatrics has said: "The AAP strongly advocates that all policy considerations for the coming school year should start with the goal of having students physically present in school. The importance of in-person learning is well-documented, and there is already evidence of the negative impacts on children because of school closures in the spring of 2020."
A new report by UNICEF, the United Nations agency for children, warned that "the future of an entire generation is at risk." The report stated: "Children and schools are not the main drivers of the epidemic across countries. Evidence shows that the net benefits of keeping schools open outweigh the costs of closing them. Data from 191 countries show no consistent association between school reopening status and COVID-19 infection rates."