California's Failing Grade

Statement

This week, Cal Matters reported that California's K-12 public school enrollment has dropped by 155,000 students, more than six times the annual average.

For nearly a year, Sacramento bureaucrats have proclaimed that reopening schools was too risky, despite calls from many parents, students, and educators to return to in-person instruction, rising adolescent suicide rates exacerbated by increased isolation, and a suspected spike in child abuse. In an attempt to keep our kids safe from COVID-19, their mental, physical, and emotional well-being have been jeopardized.

Now, CDC researchers agree with the studies that doctors and health experts have been pointing to for months: "There has been little evidence that schools have contributed meaningfully to increased community transmission."

Promoting safety, particularly with an unprecedented virus, is important. But while Californians have been prohibited from seeing the state's COVID-19 data, this data is alarmingly clear:

More kids are failing than ever.

So where do we go from here? That's a question that Governor Newsom and Sacramento Democrats need to answer, and quickly.

It's way past time that we get our kids safely back in the classroom.

Source