Tillis, Colleagues Introduce Amendment to Get Students Back to School

Press Release

Today, U.S. Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Tim Scott (R-SC), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Steve Daines (R-MT), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Roy Blunt (R-MO), and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) filed an amendment to the Democrats' partisan $1.9 trillion spending proposal to ensure that school reopening dollars are going to support in-person learning.

Specifically, the amendment would reward schools that are prioritizing students and taking steps to offer in-person instruction five days a week. Under this proposal, schools that are completely closed would get twenty-five percent of funding under the bill's formula, whereas schools that provide an in-person option five days a week would get one hundred percent.

"We have to open schools and bring back in-person learning now," said Senator Tillis. "Our health experts and researchers have provided a path to safely return primarily or fully to in-person instruction delivery and it is unacceptable to keep our kids out of the classroom when the facts are clear. If Democrats continue to turn a blind eye to science, our students across North Carolina and the country will continue to experience long-term consequences and learning loss from this unprecedented disruption to their education. Students in low-income or rural areas, children with physical and intellectual disabilities, and those that rely heavily on school nutrition programs and other in-school services are hit the hardest and we must act now. This commonsense amendment will reward schools who decide to open their doors and start putting the future of our children's education first."

Last month, Senator Tillis introduced legislation that would prohibit federal funding to schools that do not provide an in-person learning option by April 30, 2021.

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