Many parents pleased but teachers decry ‘arrogance’ as state orders schools to open at beginning of April

BOSTON (WHDH) - Some parents said they were happy that state officials are ordering students back into school buildings at the start of April amid improving COVID-19 metrics, but educators said the move undermines local control.

Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley announced Tuesday that elementary schools won’t be able to count hybrid and remote learning models toward meeting the required student learning time hours effective Monday, April 5, with middle and high school students to follow.

Officials said everyone will have to wear masks unless they have a medical or behavioral exemption and desks must be at least three feet apart. Anytime students remove their masks, such as during lunch, they must be six feet apart.

Officials said schools will be able to use pooled testing to check for COVID-19 cases and that hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent to improve ventilation and other health systems in school buildings.

Merrie Najimy, president of the Massachusetts Teachers Association, said educators are ready to return but the state’s plan doesn’t allow local districts to do what’s right for them.

“Today’s guidance reflects an arrogance, a top-down one-size-fits-all view that the department knows better than local communities about the right way and time to go full in person,” Najimy said.

With more than 125 schools in Boston, the head of the teachers union said she’s not sure how they’ll get students back. For districts having issues, the state will be granting waivers, so they can take an incremental approach.

But there must be a compelling case, and the waiver is only for a limited amount of time.

“It’s fine to say, ‘OK, you have to do this,’ but, if a district doesn’t have the resources or additional facilities? What are they to do? I don’t know how Boston public schools are going to pull this off,” union President Jessica Tang said.

But several parents said they were eager for their children to return.

“To me as a parent, who works in the medical field, it’s a relief,” said Cesar Martinez, the parent of a first-grader. “I understand how the teachers feel with getting vaccinated and feeling safe. But as long as you take the precautions, I feel like all the kids can be back in school.”

“We’re pumped!” said Maureen Coppinger, saying one of her children had been having a rough time learning remotely. “He’s in K-1, and Zoom was not working for him, and he just wants to be around his friends. He wants to be around kids.”

According to the state, 80 percent of school districts in Massachusetts are already utilizing some form of in-person learning.

Families will be able to choose whether to send back their children or have them learn remotely through the end of this school year.

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