As debate over whether to reopen schools has raged on, most people have focused on the wisdom of sending kids back to school as the nation continues to work to get the coronavirus pandemic under control.
Folks worried about reopening are concerned about the health of students, teachers, and staff — as well as all those people's families — and want to make sure that reopening will not exacerbate the COVID crisis.
Advocates for reopening say that remote learning isn't enough: Kids need to be back in school, they say, because they learn better with in-person instruction. Those advocates also note children need the social aspect of schools and that many kids need the services and protections many schools provide.
But what about the economic impact of keeping schools closed? How much damage will closed schools have on the U.S. economy.
A report this month from Barron's examined those questions and came up with a troubling answer: Keeping schools closed may well cost the U.S. economy more than $700 billion.
The Barron's report started with an ominous note: "The only thing standing between a recovery and a double-dip recession might be the back-to-school season."
As the new school year starts, Barron's noted, 56 million students from kindergarten to 12th grade are facing all sorts of new challenges — most are going to have to use distance learning, which presents unique academic challenges, while others will face the challenge of dealing with COVID regulations within their schools.
But those challenges might just pale in comparison to the economic challenge of not returning to in-class instruction.
"The risks to reopening schools are clear — they could become a new epicenter for Covid-19," Barron's said, "but the costs of keeping schools closed could be even higher."
Just how much higher?
Barron's says the U.S. would be looking at $700 billion in lost revenue and productivity, which would be 3.5% of GDP, Axios said.
The impact closed schools will have on the economy is connected to our nation's decision to have schools act as child care so that parents can go to work. With kids at home, parents are being forced to give up work hours or quit their jobs altogether.
According to the Becker Friedman Institute at the University of Chicago, working parents account for about one-third of the nation's workforce, Axios noted.
The outlet added that child-care needs in the wake of the nation's response to COVID last March, which closed schools across the country, meant that 13% of those working parents lost their jobs or cut back their hours. And those who did not have to give up work have found themselves considerably less productive: The average working parent has lost eight hours a week of productivity with kids at home during the pandemic.
Misty Heggeness, a visiting scholar at the Minneapolis Fed, told Axios, "Even if you're lucky enough to have a teleworking situation, it's really hard to work at full capacity when you're essentially acting as a teaching assistant."
The Iowa Department of Education on Thursday denied a request from Des Moines Public Schools to start the school year fully online, arguing that the state's goal is to allow "parents to choose what's best for their child" — not school districts.
Last month, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) ordered schools in the state to begin the new year by offering at least 50% of its classes within the school building.
The order permitted school districts to apply for an exemption from the law allowing them to operate in a primarily virtual option, but outlined that such requests would need to be approved by the state.
The state's guidelines delineated that districts must have a 2-week rolling average positive test rate of at least 15% in their county before they can transition.
In a letter to the district Thursday, Education Department Director Ann Lebo said the coronavirus infection rate in Polk County, where DMPS is located, did not meet the state's criteria.
"The Iowa Department of Public Health has corrected the current 14-day average percent positivity rate for Polk County as 8%," Lebo wrote. "And your request, including the detailed letter of you provided, and our consultation with the Iowa Department of Public Health have not identified any other basis for concluding that it is appropriate to start the school year with primarily remote learning. For these reasons, your request is denied."
Lebo made clear that the order does not stop DMPS from providing 100% online classes for families that select that option, "nor does it affect the district's ability to provide hybrid learning that offers at least half of its instruction in person."
Now, the school district is planning to sue the state, making them the second district to do so since Reynolds' order was implemented.
According to the Des Moines Register, DMPS said Friday that it will ask a judge to block the state's enforcement of the order and review the state's authority to deny local school boards the "ability to make decisions in accordance with the law and the interests of their local communities."
"The governor and her agencies have decided to ignore the local decision-making authority set out in the law to try and force their will on school districts to do things we all know are simply not safe at this time," said Kyrstin Delagardelle, chair of the Des Moines school board, in a statement.
"The virtual learning proposed by DMPS is not an act of political defiance," Superintendent Tom Ahart added. "It's about following science as we resume instruction for our students while doing our part to keep our community safe during a time of continuing uncertainty regarding public health."
The district plans to file the petition in court next week. Students are scheduled to begin classes the week after Labor Day.
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