Op-Ed: How to Ease COVID-Era Education Battles: Fund Students

Originally published in The American Spectator.

With three children in three different schools, Natalie Wallace has experienced the struggles of education in the COVID era. She sees kids — her own and her friends’ — falling behind academically, socially, and emotionally. These changes have been particularly hard on children with special needs, like Natalie’s son, who is blind. And parents are struggling as they juggle varying school schedules with their own jobs and often face increased costs from remote schooling. Now more than ever, Natalie says it’s time to support parents and students directly.

The varied responses to the COVID-19 pandemic have shone a spotlight on the need for more options and increased flexibility in K-12 education. Some families want to remain remote, others prefer a hybrid approach, and still others want their children to return to the classroom full time. Similarly, while some teachers want to stay virtual, many are ready to be back in the classroom. Education has never been one size fits all, but that’s even more true as we continue to grapple with COVID-19.

Our current education system has proven to be too inflexible to meet these diverse needs. And kids are paying the highest price. When states ordered schools to close last March, hardly anyone expected it to last the rest of the school year. No one predicted thousands of schools would still be closed a whole year later.

Clearly, children are…

Read more at The American Spectator.