CDC emails with teachers union on reopening is 'an outrage,' said education advocate

WASHINGTON (SBG) - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have received criticism after a report from the New York Post accused the American Federation of Teachers of having too much influence in the CDC’s guidance for reopening schools. The report details emails between the AFT and the CDC ahead of the guidelines announcement.

“The report was flawed, it was politically influenced, and frankly, it should be an outrage to every teacher in America, and every parent that it went down that way,” said Jeanne Allen, the founder and CEO of the Center for Education Reform to The National Desk’s Jan Jeffcoat.

Allen says it started “pretty good” in February when the CDC says that schools could reopen safely, but after the involvement of AFT, the report was changed “such that many schools are only opening today.”

White House Spokesperson Jen Psaki defended the communication between CDC and AFT, saying it’s a “longstanding best practice for the CDC to engage with organizations, groups that are going to be impacted by guidance and recommendations.”

But according to Allen, there’s a better way to communicate with organizations and groups.

“Here's how you engage: Please write to us. Please share your thoughts, all of those thoughts are reviewed, they're not private emails,” said Allen. “Had this been any other administration, these folks would be on the chopping block. There are personal emails between the leadership of the AFT and the leadership of the CDC going way up to the top, it is not public engagement where they solicited parents, teachers, community members.”

Allen has called for the resignation of AFT President Randi Weingarten.

“This has been all about adult power and nothing about children and families,” said Allen.

“I'm hoping what will come of this is that someone will attempt to restore, although it may be too late, some integrity to the CDC, and that the President or his leadership ... will cease and desist on using the teachers union as their one-stop shopping for advice and consent.”

As some schools are just now returning to in-person learning, over a year since the start of the pandemic and just weeks before the end of the school year, Allen says that the students that are “worst off will continue to be worst off. “

“We're going to have one or two your lags, at least, in schools,” said Allen. “Parents are frustrated and they fear what's happening and it's going to take a lot and it's not going to take the traditional system that has failed those kids to catch it up, it's going to take new innovations and choices for parents.”